Lost in the Dark
by KaraWasHere
Summary: How do you cope with the death of your best friend? With the girl she cares most about missing and hatred towards the world building up in her veins, Shizuru wishes she knew the answer. Who will come to her aide?
1. Vunerable to the Dark

_A little girl with tawny blonde hair poured ketchup all over an unsure ebony haired boy, sprawled out on the playground floor. As each minute passed the little boy grew more and more apprehensive about their whole plan. _

"_Shizuru-chan, are you sure about this?" The boy spoke, still staying completely motionless._

_The blonde child stopped soaking the boy in ketchup for a moment and looked at him with a serious face. "What's not to be sure about?" _

"_Well I've only been here for three weeks and Haruka already doesn't like me…" The boy confessed, averting his away from Shizuru's intensely annoyed gaze._

"_Your point?" She asked calmly, although her gaze showed irritation, there was no trace of it in her voice._

"_My point?!" The boy snapped his head at the girl next to him, anger building up in his voice. "What if I wanted to be friends with her?!"_

_Shizuru's face was now a mixture of anger and something the boy couldn't quite place his finger on, jealousy perhaps? What ever the case, it was a face she'd never shown him before._

"_Reito-kun has me and that's enough." She told him and then continued her task of covering the boy in ketchup without looking at his face again._

_These words confused the boy's seven year old mind. He had to think about it for a moment before coming to the conclusion that Shizuru must've meant that she'd be lonely without him. A smile glowing with pride grew on his face. It felt nice to be needed by someone, he couldn't remember if he was ever needed by someone before, all the memories he held before three weeks ago were hazy. The only thing he remembered clearly was waking up in a room, meeting his 'parents' and being brought to Fuuka Elemantary. _

_And that's where he had met Shizuru, Haruka and a shy little girl named Yukino. He secretly thought of them as 'The PMS trio.' Though he kept it to himself in fear of being murdered by said trio._

_Sometimes he wished he'd never been dragged into their little group, they were all so odd. Haruka always seemed to be yelling about something, anything actually. Yukino trailed behind Haruka like a shadow or a fly on a dead animal and never really talked; the most she'd ever say was less than a sentence. It seemed Shizuru was more normal than the rest, she had a couple quirks, but she was nonetheless normal. _

_To be honest, the three girls were his only friends. He didn't even know if he could count Haruka and Yukino as friends, per say, the only time they interacted was when Shizuru and him decided to rile them up. So in truth, Shizuru was his only friend. In retrospect, he'd actually never got the chance to make friends with the other kids in his class because Shizuru was always dragging him away to do whatever it was she decided they'd do that day. _

_Today, they were going to play a prank on Haruka. The plan was; they'd cover Reito in ketchup and pretend he died, then Shizuru'd run to Haruka in hysterics and ask her for help, then Haruka'd come over and Shizuru would ask her to check his pulse, at which point, Reito'd jump up and pretend to be the living dead and scare the living daylights out of the girl._

_Suddenly, Shizuru hopped up off the ground. "Okay, you're done." She said, studying him from a higher distance. "You look beautiful!" _

_If by beautiful she meant; lying in a puddle of ketchup and bleeding the red condiment from several different locations while his limbs were thrown about in a disorderly manner, then yes, he looked magnificent._

_Shizuru started gathering up the numerous empty ketchup bottles. "Stay put Reito-kun, I have to throw this all away." She said before running off with an armful of ketchup bottles only to return no more than a minute later empty handed._

_She crouched down next to the motionless boy, "You remember the plan, right?" She asked for precaution. It wouldn't be funny if things didn't go the way she had planned. She smiled in determination when Reito nodded his head. Though the guilty look on his face annoyed her, she said nothing about it and just thought about her plan. "I'll go find Haruka." She said quickly, standing up._

_Shizuru ran, not wanting to leave her friend waiting. She exited the playground and darted towards Haruka's house, which was conveniently close to the park. The tawny blonde slowed down once she got to the enormous front yard and changed her pace to a speedy walk. _

_In case someone other than Haruka answered the door, Shizuru knocked three times; the polite number of knocks, as her mother had taught her. This action was un-needed as the one to open the door was Haruka herself. _

"_Fujino?" The blonde girl asked, surprised to see Shizuru's uncharacteristically messy demeanor._

_Shizuru grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her slightly in a panicky manner. "Haruka! It's Reito! You have to help me!"_

"_What happened to him?" Haruka asked, getting worried. _

"_I don't know! I just found him like that!" _

"_Like what?!" _

"_I'll show you, come with me! Hurry!" Shizuru yelled, grabbing the girl by the wrist and trying to pull her out the door._

_Haruka ripped her hand away, "Hang on, let me go get Yukino!" She called before disappearing into the large house and coming back with a mousy girl by the wrist. _

_Shizuru lead them both out the door and back to the park where Reito was stationed. Shizuru had made up two different scenario's in her mind while she had been concocting this plan earlier this morning. One with Yukino and one without. The one with the mousy girl was the obviously entertaining one; that way, she could scare both of them…two is better than one._

_The two girls were frantic. They'd be even more frantic when they saw Reito in a puddle of his own blood. Haruka would try to act brave and assess the situation by checking his pulse. Reito would surprise her by grabbing her shoulder and act like a zombie then Haruka'd scream and back away from him; probably move back to protect Yukino. At that point, Reito would readjust his target and pounce Shizuru, she'd scream at them to get help effectively making them run home and get their parents or possibly the law. But when they came back, Reito'd be cleaned up and all traces of ketchup would be gone; the two would act as if they had no idea what was going on. _

_Shizuru giggled inwardly; it was so perfect. _

_When the three girls reached the park, Shizuru led them to the spot where she had left the ketchup covered boy. Only to find a big puddle of ketchup with the absence of the ebony haired little boy. _

"_Where is he?!" Haruka boomed causing Shizuru to wince slightly._

'_Where's he gone to?! He's ruining the plan! Did he have to use the restroom?! Men are so unreliable! …Okay, calm down…we can turn the situation back into our favor….' Shizuru thought in a panic. Ideas raced through Shizuru's mind a mile a minute. She hadn't planned for this scenario. Inwardly she was panicked but outwardly, her façade hadn't changed. Suddenly an idea popped up._

"_He must be…" Shizuru whispered just loud enough for the two girls to hear her. _

_Haruka grabbed her shoulder as if willing her to talk more. "He must be what?! What's going on?!" The fear in her voice was evident. _

_Shizuru turned around with a face full of fright. "Haruka…what…what does it mean when dead people walk around?" She asked, her voice only slightly higher than a whisper._

"_He's a zombie?!" Haruka shouted._

"_He's going to eat us!" Yukino squeaked, now on the verge of tears._

_Haruka snapped her head towards her scared friend. "I won't let him!" She yelled in determination._

"_It's alright, you two go home, warn your parents and I'll go look for him." Shizuru said feigning concern._

"_But--" Haruka tried to protest._

"_We don't have time to argue, hurry!" Shizuru commanded. "I'm counting on you!"_

_With that said, Haruka nodded and took off towards home with Yukino hastily shadowing behind her. Once the girls were out of sight, Shizuru let her façade drop and a wicked smile formed on her seven year old face._

"_God, I'm such a good actor." She chuckled darkly. "Now to find Reito-kun."_

_She searched far, she searched wide, but there was no sign of her best friend. She investigated his house, she checked the pond that the kids in town frequently hung out, she scoured the local supermarket from top to bottom, the little girl even went far enough as to check the mens' restroom; only to be yelled at by a couple men actually using said bathroom._

_She had looked everywhere that the boy could've been and yet no sign of him! She hadn't even seen any ketchupy foot prints! It's like the boy had just up and disappeared….wait! That's it! Disappeared! He disappeared! Reito once showed her a place where he said he went to, to 'disappear' from the world. It was a place he had found two weeks earlier when they went on a treasure hunt to better familiarize him with the area._

_Shizuru only vaguely remembered how to get to his special place; most of the way she had been too delighted that the boy wanted to share a secret with her that she hadn't noticed the directions. She wasn't sure where to start. So she used powers of deduction; something her father had taught and urged that she used it whenever._

_To begin, the only thing that she remembered clearly was that it was in a wooded area. In town, there were only two wooded areas as such: the one behind the local supermarket and the one that surrounded the ever popular lake. Obviously, the one surrounding the lake wasn't it, seeing as all the local kids played there; if Reito were hiding, he wouldn't hide in such a populated area. Though hiding in an open area is a tactful, Shizuru had played enough games of hide-and-go-seek with the boy to know that Reito preferred hiding in dark and quiet places._

_So therefore, he was hiding in the forest behind the super market. As to narrow down her searches even more, Shizuru tried to recall what his special spot had actually looked like. She thought intensly, desperately rifling through her memory to piece together the image of Reito's special place._

_All she managed was that it was up on a hill, and if you looked past all the tree you could see the whole town…with no other choice, Shizuru made her way into the forest hoping that seeing some kind of tree formation or something of the like would jog her memory. _

_Shizuru searched through the forest, it took her a couple minutes, but she soon started seeing things that were familiar. It was exciting, she suddenly knew her way through the labyrinth and towards her prize. Of course, once she saw the hill all that excitement crashed out of her system. The girl hesitantly eyed the steep, muddy hill. She knew that her friend was at the top, waiting for her patiently. Shizuru shook all thoughts of de-motivation out of her mind and started up the hill. _

_She struggled up the mountainous hill, silently cursing her lack of strength. Never had this girl, Shizuru Fujino, in all her seven years, ever needed to execert herself and do such physical activity. She always had people there to do it for her. At home she had her maids, at school she had the boys and curiously a small number of girls at her every beck and call, anywhere she went, there was always someone. But not this time, this time she had no one but herself to get her up the hill. She tried to boost her willpower by thinking of Reito waiting for her at the top. The thought alone made her climb faster and soon enough, she was at the top. _

_Shizuru looked down at her clothes which had been stained with mud from the climb, despair briefly shot through her veins when she saw the mess. She wasn't distraught because her clothes were dirty but the thought of what her parents would say when they saw her clothes. Oh the trouble she would be in…._

"_Shi…zu…ru…" _

_The voice was enough to break her out of her thoughts. The girl's head snapped up to peer at the boy in front of her. "Long time no see, Reito-kun." She teased._

_Reito turned back around, though she couldn't see his face, Shizuru could tell he was upset. Everything was silent. Finally, he spoke, "I'm sorry…" The words came out shaky, like he was about to cry._

_Immediately, Shizuru was at his side. She put her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to make him feel better. "Sorry about what?" She asked._

"_Well, I just…left and ruined the whole plan…aren't you upset?" The boy still hadn't looked at her, he just continued to stare at the ground._

_A smiled tugged at Shizuru's lips. What a silly boy, how could she be upset?_

"_Of course I'm not upset!"_

_His head shot up in confusion. "You're…not?" He asked, now looking her in the eye._

"_I could never be upset with you! You're my best friend, Reito-kun!" She exclaimed, suddenly hugging him tightly._

_Although too shocked to react at first, he soon hugged back just as tight. With the warm feeling that filled his heart, it was hard to stop the docile smile that formed on his lips, "Yeah, you're my best friend too…" He said quietly._

Best friends… that's what they were…She had just found out how quickly you could lose a best friend and the immense pain that it caused deep within your heart. Her heart broke in two as she saw the life slip away from her friend in her very own lap. There was nothing she could do to save him, she simply had to watch him go limp as he spoke his last words to her. She couldn't believe the sight of her dead best friend, so she just stared for a moment before a pathetic smile formed on her lips. "You're not dead, right? This is just a prank, right? Did Haruka put you up to this?" Her voice started shaking.

When he didn't answer, reality started to sink in, "Reito…no…you…you can't be dead…" It was painful to speak, the words didn't want to come out, her throat closed up and the girl felt like she was choking.

It was mere moments before the ambulance showed up to take away the dead body. As ever thing and everyone ruched around her, Shizuru couldn't help but feel stuck, the only thing she could do was stare at her best friend's peaceful face. It was almost as if he was sleeping and she could wake him up at any time, but deep down she knew this wasn't the case.

When the ambulance workers came over and took the body away, she made no struggle, she just watched as they took him away on the gurney. Her expression was dead, no sign that she was there. She simply sat on the ground as she had been and made no attempt to get up. Police came over and tried to coax her into standing up but she just ignored them and continued to stare at the retreating ambulance car.

It wasn't fair.

He was gone.

Now she was all alone…

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**Hey all you interested readers! I just feel the need to tell you that if you didn't get that the _italic _words were a flash back and the normal words were present time, get out. ^-^**

**Well drop me a review telling me what you think! **

**(Btw, this is not a ShizRei fic) **


	2. The Darkness Approaches

**I feel I should say this again, this is not a ShizRei. Just in case you were too lazy to read the last chapter's foot note.**

**Hurray! It's chapter two! As I was writing this, the whole time I would, like, envision certain scenes in my mind and then I felt compelled to draw the scenes (which I did...) so if I ever get around to posting them on DeviantArt, I'll put up a link in the next chapter.**

**Now on with the story! (And don't forget to review, I was highly disappointed to only receive one review last chapter, you bunch of asscakes lol)**

* * *

It was supposed to be a good day. It was supposed to take her mind off all her worldly troubles. It was supposed to give her a break. All it did was increase all the sadness she was feeling by ten-fold. The poor girl was bordering on full-blown depression; just one little might set it off, like not being able to find the remote or losing an earring. She felt that if she moved or tried to speak, she'd break down into sobs.

So she sat there. Ignoring all the people who tried to coax her into standing up as she tried to bore a hole in the ground with her dead gaze. Why should she get up? She didn't know any of these people, for all she knew they could be trying to trick her. Making her stand up only to be knocked over the head with a hammer. They could be trying to fool her into a false comfort, therefore, they could not be trusted.

"Shizuru…" She heard a familiar voice call out to her, it was enough to make her raise her head. A familiar face among many strangers was exactly what someone in Shizuru's position needed. Unfortunately, the familiar face was not one she really wanted to see at the moment. The face belonged to Mai Tokiha, also known as 'The Girl Who Broke Her Bestfriend's Heart Into Ten-zillion Pieces' or 'That Bitch' for short.

Although Shizuru had never shown it, she always hated Mai for that. "Shizuru…c'mon, get up." Mai coaxed with an out stretched hand, obviously trying to be helpful.

Shizuru saw this gesture as one of sympathy; the one thing she simply despised the most. Her facial expression hardened and she stood up herself. The tea-addict had to stop the smile of satisfaction that was on the verge of forming when she saw Mai withdraw her hand looking rather hurt.

"Miss, we'd like to take you to the hospital to check for injuries." An officer informed from behind her.

Shizuru's head snapped towards the man, "Excuse me, do I look injured to you?" It wasn't like her to be so rude, but then again, she wasn't really feeling herself at the moment.

"It's standard procedure when an accident like this happens…especially when there's been fatalities…" Shizuru winced at the last part of the man's statement. The pain of losing her best friend suddenly started to feel more real then before.

"I wasn't even close to him when the refrigerator hit him." She explained, struggling to keep her voice even.

"I understand, miss, but a lot of other things fell off the truck as well, are you sure nothing hit you?" The police officer questioned, sounding as professional as he looked.

"I'm sure." Was her curt reply.

"Would you like one of our officers to take you home?" He asked, less out of standard procedure and more out of concern for the woman in front of him. From his stand point, she was disturbingly calm for someone who had just witnessed a man die in her lap.

"No." She answered.

He hesitated for a moment before nodding and leaving her to check out the other injured civilians. Shizuru turned away and silently tried to make her way away from the scene but she was stopped by someone grabbing her shoulder. She turned her head to glare at the offender with her peripheral vision, "I'd rather like it if you didn't touch me." the girl said flatly.

Immediately the hand retracted back towards it's orange-haired owner. "Shizuru, you're a mess, let me take you home." It was Mai again.

"That won't be necessary…Go take care of Mikoto." Shizuru declined, turning her head away from the girl once more.

"Mikoto's fine, I'm more worried about you…" She confessed.

This girl was really starting to get on her last nerve. Mai had no idea if Mikoto was fine or not! Did she just plan to leave Mikoto without comfort?! It was her brother that had just died! The one that she was just recently reunited with! How dare she go and say that the feral girl was alright! Shizuru's blood started to boil. She clenched her fists in an attempt to keep herself from turning around and going off on the carrot-top.

"You have no idea…" Shizuru said and then mumbled something.

"Huh?" Mai sounded, indicating that she hadn't heard the other girl.

"You have no idea how Mikoto feels. She must be in so much pain right now, how dare you say she's fine." Shizuru repeated herself more clearly, her tone was one that could easily make a clean cut through a piece of wood.

Mai winced at the words, but she didn't leave, she just gazed at the woman's back. "You seem to know what she's feeling pretty well, why don't you go take care of her?" The carrot-top said, her voice took on an unusual tone, one of annoyance, or perhaps it was stern motherly tone.

Shizuru let out a bitter chuckle, "I care, but I don't care that much." She replied, not turning around to see the utter surprise that had taken over Mai's face.

With that, Shizuru took off at a steady pace, knowing full-well that the carrot top wouldn't shadow behind her. The tawny blonde walked towards her apartment, which wasn't far. All she wanted to do at the moment was hop under the covers of her queen sized bed and sleep away this nightmare.

As she made the journey back to her home, she looked at no one but the gum-stained sidewalk below her. She just didn't have the energy, the girl simply felt drained of all life. The normally observant girl didn't even notice the stares she was getting from other pedestrians.

"Fujino?"

At first, Shizuru thought she was hearing things and kept moving until the person called out to her again, this time louder. The distant girl stopped and turned her head back to the owner of the voice.

For a moment, Shizuru didn't recognize the person calling out to her, but after a moment, the name and face clicked in her mind. Nao Yuuki. The red-headed devil (As Shizuru cleverly dubbed her), although the young girl was really mean and seemingly indifferent all the time, Shizuru was quite fond of her.

"Oh my god! What…" Nao exclaimed, obviously at loss for words. Shizuru's face contorted in confusion until she took a peek at her clothes.

Blood coated her clothes from her knee up. It wasn't from her own veins though, but from her recently deceased best friend's, whom was being take to the morgue.

"Did you…Who did you…" Nao kept babbling. "Was it Kuga?…Did you…?!"

At the mention of Natsuki, Shizuru's expression immediately hardened. After the Carnival, seeing Natsuki was a very rare occasion, even more so than before. Recently, no one had seen or heard from Natsuki at all. She wouldn't answer phone calls, text messages or her front door, for that matter. At one point, Mai and Nao just broke down the door of her apartment only to find an empty room that hadn't been occupied in weeks.

"I didn't kill anyone, if that's what Nao was thinking." Shizuru answered, trying to put up a cheerful mask in front of the young red-head.

"Then…"

"It was Reito…he…got into an accident." Shizuru answered her unasked question.

Nao looked taken aback, something that was rare on this girl's face. "Is he okay?"

"No, he's unfortunately passed on…" She said quietly, averting her eyes from the younger girl.

Although Nao hadn't known Reito, she knew what it felt to lose some one dear. Immediately, her face took on the expression of compassion out of understanding the girl's pain. The red-head gently grabbed Shizuru's hand.

"C'mon, let's get you home and clean you up." Shizuru, who was obviously taken aback by the unusual compassion in Nao's voice, could do nothing but nod dumbly and only started walking when the red-head tugged at her hand.

Nao lead them in a straight line for about two minutes before abruptly stopping, "By the way, where do you live?" She asked as she turned around.

Shizuru said nothing and simply took the lead, still holding Nao's hand.

Once at Shizuru's apartment, Shizuru completely disregarded the fact that Nao was in her home and instantly got in the shower. Nao, was now torn between leaving to show the tea-addict that she didn't welcome rudeness or to stay and yell at her after her shower. After no more than three minutes of pondering the possible courses of action, the red-head decided on the latter.

She plopped down on the couch and propped her feet up on the coffee table, or in other words, she made herself at home. Seeing as there was no TV to entertain her while she waited on the showering girl, Nao started rummaging through the drawers on the table. The first drawer contained a book, an i-pod, and a shopping list. Uninterested by books and shopping lists, Nao pulled out the electronic music player, popped the ear buds in and turned it on. Her ears were immediately blasted with some kind of soothing music, most likely enka music. Upon scouring through the device, to her disdain, she found that the majority of the music was either enka or classical. The red-head turned off the i-pod and grunted in disgust.

At first glance, the next drawer looked like it was just filled with a single book, but upon closer inspection, Nao found it to be a photo album. Immediately interested, the nosy girl grabbed the thin, black book and flipped it open. The first picture was a young Shizuru, maybe two or three years old, sitting in seiza wearing a lavender kimono smiling care-freely at the camera. The smile wasn't one of pretense, like she normal wore, it was sincere, it was happy. Nao couldn't help but grin at the picture.

The next one seemed like it skipped a few years, it was a family photo, Shizuru was now nearly five. She sat in between two boys, one younger and one a little older. Her parents sat in chairs behind them while two older boys stood, one on either side of each parent. Nao stared at the picture in surprise, she had always figured that Shizuru was an only child.

Upon flipping the page, Nao found an eight year-old Shizuru hanging off an eight year-old Reito's arm, both smiling widely. The background suggested that they were at a carnival. Nao stared at this picture longer than she had the other two, not out of sadness, but out of sympathy for Shizuru. She looked so happy at the boy's side and now she would never be able to experience that again.

Hesitantly, she flipped the page again, it was another picture of the two friends, this time they were a bit older, they must have been around thirteen or fourteen seeing as they wore Fuuka's middle school uniform. Shizuru had her arms around Reito's neck while his arms rested around her waist, judging by their smiles directed at the camera, the two were undeniably happy. But that's not what made Nao chuckle, it was Haruka's face in the background pointing at them, obviously ranting about public displays of affection.

Nao's smile disappeared the instant she turned the page and inspected the picture; it was her. Natsuki Kuga. She and Shizuru were the only ones in the frame, Natsuki had her head turned to the side in defiance and Shizuru was no doubt coaxing her to turn her head and smile. Nao growled lightly at the picture as her blood started to boil just in thought of the girl. Nao, who didn't like Natsuki in the beginning (or anybody, for that matter) had just started warming up to her right before the mutt up and left. Initially, the red-head wasn't that upset until she saw how the biker's disappearance caused everyone pain. Instead of becoming a sad heap like everyone else though, Nao became angry. She just wanted to punch the girl into a coma, then after she woke up, punch her into another one and repeat the process until she didn't wake up.

The red-head shook her head and continued flipping through the pages, it was just more and more pictures of Shizuru with friends and family. Nao found it odd that as the pictures progressed, Shizuru's smile was becoming more and more plastered. Frequently, Nao would flip back and forth between a smile she deemed fake and the three-year-old Shizuru's smile. For some reason, she had the urge to make Shizuru smile like that again. She wanted to see it for herself.

Suddenly, she heard the bathroom door open and she quickly and hastily shoved the album back into the drawer. She reclined into the couch, trying to look as comfortable as possible to put the tawny blonde under the pretense that she had been sitting like that the entire time.

Her efforts went unnoticed by Shizuru, who came out in a bath robe and simply walked right past Nao and into the kitchen. Nao heard things being moved around and decided to see what the sullen girl was doing. Upon opening the kitchen door, Nao immediately recognized Shizuru's actions. The girl was preparing tea. The red-head, whom was still being ignored, leaned up against the wall opposite to Shizuru.

"You sure know how to treat a guest." Nao remarked sarcastically. At the sound of her voice, Shizuru jumped slightly, which almost went unnoticed by the red-head.

Despite this, Shizuru still stayed silent. So they sat in a dead silence until the girl finished preparing tea. Shizuru pulled out one cup and pour the calming brown liquid into it. After taking one long sip, she slowly and calmly turned towards the red-head.

"Nao, I thank you for your company, but I'd like to be alone at the moment." Shizuru's tone was back to it's default politeness, and with that tone also came along with her bogus reassuring smile.

Nao glared at her, seeing through her bull, "You may think you wanna be alone, but you don't." She watched Fujino's signature smile drop into a annoyed frown. "If you want to cry, you can do it in front of me, I won't think less of--"

"I'm not going to cry. Just leave." Shizuru said defensively, cutting Nao off.

"Fujino…"

"Get out!" She yelled, slamming her tea cup down onto the counter and dropping all and any pretense of calmness that she had constructed.

Nao didn't move. She didn't make any sign that she was going to leave either, she just stood there blankly, determined to stay.

"I'll call the police." She threatened, by now this was just a desperate attempt to make her leave and Nao saw through it.

"Call 'em." She said, not scared of the empty threat.

This obviously displeased the tawny-blonde, that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. She ground her teeth together and stomped into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Nao chuckled quietly, what she saw just now was not the Shizuru Fujino who was presented to the outside world; calm, refined, and graceful, it was the real one, the spoiled one on the inside.

From inside the room, Shizuru had not heard the red-head laugh. The only thing she could hear was the anger pulsing through her veins, the blood was pumping so fast, she almost wanted to run around her house like a mad-man. But of course she didn't, she couldn't. Nao was out there and she wouldn't leave. How dare she? What the red-head was doing was called trespassing!

She enjoyed Nao's company, yes, but at the moment she couldn't stand to see nor talk to the girl. While in the shower, she had an epiphany of sorts, she realized the exact reason she enjoyed the red-head's company so much. It was because her actions, her manner of speaking, her whole bad-girl front, it reminded her of Natsuki. The red-head reminded her of too much of the Natsuki whom she had held so dear, the same one who left and hasn't attempted to make contact with her, the same exact Natsuki who has left her without any dear friends in the world. That's why she couldn't stand the sight of her right now.

Things went from bad to worse in less than six months, first Natsuki left, then Reito left her as well. The two were the only people she had felt to be important in her life. At the thought, her eyes started to water, threatening to spill over in tears. But she stopped them, she quickly blinked them away and rubbed her eyes.

She couldn't cry yet. She wasn't allowed to cry yet, it would go against their promise. And she wasn't going to break her best friend's promise, dead or alive.

_It was a sad day for Shizuru Fujino, her precious pet snake, Kiyohime, had just died. The morning she found out, the ten year-old was too devastated to go to school. She called Reito and urged him to take the day off as well, which of course, after hearing his best friend's pleas, the boy hurried off to her house instead of taking his normal route to school._

_The two ten year-olds and Shizuru's brother, Takashi, whom was closest in age, were the only ones inside the house aside from the various maids prancing about trying to comfort the sullen little girl. _

_Shizuru sat on the couch with her knees pressed to her chest in sadness, Reito inspected the dead snake from outside it's clear glass cage and Takashi sat on the other end of the couch and inspected the snake from there._

"_Are you gonna bury it?" Reito asked._

"_Of course I am, stupid. What am I going to do with a dead snake?" Shizuru spat hatefully._

_Reito, whom had never heard the mild-mannered girl speak to him in such a way, stayed silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. _

"_Don't mind her, Kanzaki. She gets pissy when she's upset." He said, his voice doused with boredom._

_This made Shizuru's head snap towards her older brother. "Shut-up! Why don't you just go to school!" She yelled, her eyes welling up with tears._

_The boy glared, "Don't tell me what to do, you spoiled princess. If you're gonna skip 'cause that freak-snake died, then so am I." Now his voice dripped with venom._

_Shizuru had no retort, she simply snapped her head back and rested it on her knees. Seeing his friend like this, Reito couldn't help but feel bad. He slowly walked over and sat on the couch next to her, rubbing her back as to comfort her. He sat silently for a moment listening to her sniffles._

"_Shizuru…Don't cry, Kiyohime would be sad if you cried." He coaxed._

_Shizuru stopped crying, she hadn't wanted her precious snake to be sad. She remained in her position but without crying until her brother opened his mouth again. "It's a snake. It's not gonna be sad, it's dead." _

_Instantly, the tears started pouring again. Takashi grinned in satisfaction until he saw Reito glaring at him, the his grin turned into an annoyed frown. "Shut-up, Kanzaki." _

_Reito turn his attention back to Shizuru, "Why don't we ask one of the maids to help us bury her, would you like that?" He asked gently. _

_Shizuru, still not looking up, nodded her head. Before Takashi could say anything, Reito led Shizuru out of the room and into the kitchen, where they found one maid mopping the floor._

"_Excuse me, if you wouldn't mind, would you help us bury a dear friend?" Reito asked with his best manners._

_The maid looked between the calm, well-mannered boy, whom she had seen on numerous occasions, and the daughter of the household, who was still trying to control her tears. Of course she couldn't refuse a request from someone in the family, but the request caused her a little concern. Had these two young children killed someone? Were they asking her to be an accomplice? Should she call the police?_

"…_A friend?" The maid asked cautiously. Obviously, this particular maid hadn't heard of Kiyohime's death yet, which wasn't odd seeing as she had just started her shift. _

"_Kiyohime…she…she…I found her…" Shizuru struggled to explain between sniffles, she didn't look at the maid, the girl was too focused on rubbing the tears out of her eyes._

_The maid bent down to Shizuru's height and placed a hand on her head, "What happened to Kiyohime, sweetie?" She asked gently._

_Reito watched the scene take place. He had been to the Fujino household many times and after witnessing the way the maids treat Shizuru different than they treat her siblings all those time, he had come to the conclusion that she was their favorite. They were always cuddling her, telling her how cute she was, asking her how her day was and so on. Whenever he started to wonder why, he never came to a valid conclusion, so he just stopped thinking about it._

"_Kiyohime…" Shizuru sobbed. The maid pulled Shizuru into a hug in an attempt to comfort her._

"_Kiyohime has passed on. We'd like to have a burial for her." Reito answered._

_The maid look over at him, (although the look she gave him wasn't the same one she gave Shizuru) "Is she still in her cage?"_

"_Yes, we haven't touched her." He answered._

_Just as he said this, another maid came into the room, saw Shizuru's crying into the first maid's chest and immediately became alarmed. "What happ--" She started to say, but stopped short as her thought fell on the recently deceased snake._

"_Haru, go prepare a hole in the garden for a burial." The first maid ordered._

_Shizuru pulled her head out the woman's chest for a moment to address the maid who would be in charge of her snake's grave. "Would…would you make…it roomy for her? I…want Kiyohime…to….have room to…stretch." She managed between sniffles._

"_O-of course!" The maid assured and took off towards the garden to make a proper burial. _

_Once she was gone, the little girl looked towards Reito then looked at the maid, "Do you think…I could…bury her with her favorite toy?" She asked._

"_Of course you can, sweetie. Do you want me to go fetch it?" She asked tenderly._

_Shizuru shook her head and sniffed. "No, me and Reito will get it." She let go of the woman and walked towards her room with Reito following closely behind her._

_Upon returning with Kiyohime's favorite stuffed mouse, Shizuru and Reito came back to find the maids taking Kiyohime's lifeless body into the garden where they had a hole already prepared. They walked through the living room to go the garden for Kiyohime's burial. Before leaving the room completely, Shizuru turned to her brother who was still on the couch. _

"_Takashi, are… you coming to ….Kiyohime's funeral?" She asked, still having a hard time controlling her sniffles._

"_No, it's a snake. I'm not going to your little sham of a funeral." He spat._

_Shizuru averted her eyes to the floor, "I'm sorry." She said quietly before continuing out to the garden. Reito hesitated, silently deciding whether he should tell Takashi off or just forget it. Upon seeing Shizuru's quickly retreating back, he decided to deal with the rude boy some other time._

_Once they were out in the large garden, Shizuru and Reito scurried over to the small number of maids gathered around a small hole. _

_The sight of her lifeless, beloved pet being slowly lowered into the hole was a little too much for the young Shizuru and silent tears started falling again. Instantly, the maids who had their hands free, ran to comfort the girl. After the body was lowered into the earth, Shizuru left the side of the maids and leaned down next to the open hole. It was a deep hole, so, to personally place the stuffed mouse next to Kiyohime, Shizuru layed down on her stomache and reached inside the hole to carefully place the mouse next to Kiyohime's head. Tears fell from her face and onto the snake's corpse as she stroked it good-bye. _

_This whole time, of course, the maids were itching to make the girl stop touching the dead animal and get off the ground (which would obviously leave stains on her uniform). But they let it go and patiently waited for the girl to be done mourning._

_Reito, on the other hand, felt compelled to join his friend and say some last words to Kiyohime. The boy decided on just crouching next to her, seeing as it'd be a problem if he dirtied his uniform. He was close without being too close. _

_Five minutes passed and Shizuru still remained motionless with her head down the hole. Reito looked over his shoulder at the maids getting antsy. _

"_Shizuru, if you keep on, Kiyohime will drown in your tears." Reito commented, trying to joke._

_Shizuru took this literally and snapped her head towards the boy, "Whu…what?" She asked, her eyes wet with tears._

"_No, no, I was joking." Reito said slightly panicked._

_The girl simply whipped her head to the side, "Oh.." She said as she quietly got up and wiped a little dirt off herself._

_Reito silently watched his depressed friend look blankly at what was going on around her. The maids took it upon themselves to start digging the dirt back into the hole._

_After all was said and done, the maids tried to coax her into coming inside and getting washed up. But she declined and said she'd like to mourn a bit longer. The maids respected her wishes and retreated back into the house._

_After that, Reito and a very silent Shizuru were alone in the garden. "I miss her already…" She said quietly._

_Reito, whom was still getting used to this side of his friend, replied gently, "I bet she misses you too." _

_Shizuru looked him in the eye, tears still falling down her cheeks. "You think?" _

_The boy gave her a confident smile and nodded. Even though this action normally would've made her smile back, equally as confident, and believe every word he had just said, this time she looked at the ground, unconvinced._

"_Shizuru." He said. "Kiyohime will be sad if you keep crying like that."_

"_No, she won't. She's dead, she's can't feel anything anymore…" She replied, obviously her brother's words had gotten to her._

"_No, she's watching over you." Reito said, desperately trying to calm down the pessimistic girl down._

"_Right…" _

"_No, really! She is!" He reassured._

_Shizuru didn't really look convinced, but she nodded anyway. Before Reito could say another word, the rude voice of Takashi rung in his ear drums. "Hey princess, still crying over that stupid snake?" He asked as he walked out._

"_Takashi, would you just leave her alone?" Reito called crossly. He had let Takashi off so many times and now he was tired of the crude boy._

_Obviously being called out pissed the boy off. He got right in Reito's face, "Why don't you shut your mouth, pretty boy?" His voice left his lips like ice._

_Reito pushed him, "Why don't you shut yours?" _

_Takashi's face was full of rage as he shoved Reito back harder, "Why don't I make you shut yours?!" _

_Before Reito could push back, suddenly Shizuru was in-between them, "That's just enough!" She said, apparently done with their argument._

_Takashi's face contorted in defiance, but he backed off and stomped into the house. Reito's face on the other hand, was drained from all traces of the previous anger he was feeling at the sight of Shizuru._

_Once her brother was gone, Shizuru sat back down in front of her snake's grave with her knees pressed into her chest. Reito followed her lead and also took a seat. The two children sat in a dead, empty silence for so long that Reito lost count of the minutes in his head. Time passed slowly, and soon that empty silence turned into a comfortable silence. Once comfy enough, Shizuru rested her head on Reito's shoulder, still gazing sadly at Kiyohime's grave._

_Something about this wasn't right to Reito. Normally, he didn't mind Shizuru hanging off him or leaning up against him, in fact, he enjoyed it, but at the moment, something felt weird, it felt different. She wasn't wearing a content or smiling face like he was accustomed to seeing on her, her face was sad and gloomy. He wasn't fond of it. Feelings of guilt and sadness hit him like waves on the shore. In his view, Shizuru wasn't someone who should have to experience feelings of sorrow or grief. He knew it was some thing that everyone was going to face throughout their life, but for some reason, he wanted to protect from it as much as possible. He didn't like his friend's frowning face, he wanted her to continue smiling forever._

"_Shizuru…" He said quietly._

"_Mm?" _

"_When I die, I don't want you to cry." Reito told her, his eyes still glued to Kiyohime's grave._

_After hearing this come out of the boys mouth, Shizuru jerked herself off his shoulder. "Wha…are you…planning on dieing soon?!" She asked, a little too panicked for Reito's tastes. _

_He chuckled a bit, "No, I'm saying, if I go before you, I don't want to look down and see you sad." _

"_So I'm not allowed to cry? What if I can't help it?" She asked, bewildered at such a request._

_Reito framed his chin with his index finger and thumb playfully before answering, "Well, I suppose you can cry at my funeral…but that's it, when I check how you're doing from heaven, I wanna see you smiling."_

_Shizuru giggled and nodded. "Okay, then if I die before you, you have to promise to…." Shizuru paused, trying to think of an equal promise, "Reito has to promise to come by my grave and have tea with me every-now-and-again!"_

_Reito held out his pinky and smiled, "It's a pinky-promise!" he exclaimed._

_Shizuru responded by shaking his pinky with her own. _

Shizuru listened intently to the other side of the door, to check and see if the red-head was still invading her home. It only took a moment for signs of life to be heard. The phone started to ring and was answered no more than ten seconds later, indicating that someone was in her home. It was slightly muffled, but she could her Nao's voice.

"What?" She heard. It almost made her face-palm, that's no way to answer a phone! Her phone had no caller I.D, what if her that was her parent's? Surely she'd get a lecture about letting 'savage' people into her life.

Suddenly she heard Nao's voice become hostile, "No, you can't talk to her."

Was Nao telling someone she was unavailable? Why did she sound so angry?

"She doesn't want to talk to you." She heard the red-head bark, "Don't ever call this number again!" Was followed by the phone being forcefully slammed into the receiver.

What was that all about? Shizuru wanted to go investigate, but her body was drained of all energy and she felt rather foolish for acting as she had no more than ten minutes before.

The only thing she could do was sluggishly crawl into bed, and rest her head against the soft comfort of her pillow. Shutting her eyes, everything slowly began to be sucked into the darkness. She had no idea that her own soul would become one with a similar darkness soon enough.


	3. A Barrier to the Darkness

_**It was dark. With no light in sight, Shizuru just kept walking down the seemingly endless area. The girl had tried to stop before, but everytime she tried, the ground felt like it was about to swallow her up. In fear of being ingested into the unknown, she trudged on, not daring to stop. With it being pitch black, Shizuru couldn't have seen the large lump that made her trip and land in a puddle of water.**_

_**Surprisingly, the fall hadn't harmed her. The ground was unexpectedly cushy, like it was made of padding; the same kind that you would find in a childrens' play area.**_

_**Suddenly, a light switched on. The girl's eyes, with no previous warning of the approaching light, took sereval moments to adjust to their new exposure. Once they did, she took a moment to take in her surroundings. She found the reason for the cushy padding was because, in fact, she was at a playground, it was vaguely familiar, like she had seen it a long time ago.**_

_**Usually, people associate playgrounds with happiness and childhood. But strangely, the aura of the playground was dark and gloomy, it was like being in a zombie movie or a horror of some sort. A cold chill shot up Shizuru's spine as if to warn her of the dreary sight awaiting her vision.**_

_**It was only when an eery giggle filled the air, did Shizuru, whom was still on the ground, snapped her head towards the sudden obstruction of peace and quiet. Her eyes focused on a little girl, but it wasn't just any little girl; it was Shizuru as a child. A gasp escaped the tea-lover's lungs as she set her gaze upon her. She noticed that the girl's eyes weren't on her, they were pointed towards the ground. Following the little girl's gaze, Shizuru screamed at the disturbing sight.**_

_**It was a young Reito, lying in a large puddle of blood, obviously in pain. It hadn't occurred to her that the puddle of 'water' she had tripped in, was actually the little boy's crimson life-nectar until she completely registered what she was seeing. It was as if they couldn't see her, like she was just watching as a ghost over the living.**_

"_**Shiz…Whu..Why..?" The young boy choked out, struggling just to speak.**_

_**The young Shizuru just giggled, apparently not bothered by the sight of the dieing boy. "It's because we're bestfriend's, right?" **_

Shizuru's eyes snapped opened, the dream still vivid in her mind. She laid there in fear for several minutes, trying to process her thoughts, separating the dream from real-life. Sometimes, she would wake up and not be able to tell her dreams apart from her everyday life. She remembered this happening quite often during the HiME Carnival. She would dream things about Natsuki, and at the time, she thought they had actually happened.

Even now, Shizuru couldn't remember which ones were actually dreams. She already figured that the ones where Natsuki held her and told her things such as, "You're perfect for me," and, "I love you." Were no more than fantasy, things her mind conjured up to fool her into thinking she could be happy.

Finally noticing the sweat that drenched her body, Shizuru instinctively pulled the covers off of her and, without thinking, opened her bedroom door to make her way to the bathroom. Then she remembered her intruder, she stopped short before re-tracing her steps and shutting the door behind her. The girl put her ear up against the door as she had done the previous day to listen for signs of life. Surprisingly, there was nothing to be heard. The tea-drinker was in slight disbelief so she listened closer, now listening for even the quietest of breathing.

After a short bit of hearing nothing but the echo of her empty apartment, Shizuru decided it was safe to go out. She looked about her house to assure herself that the red-head had gone. Upon seeing all the rooms of her small apartment empty once again, she stalked into the living room only to see the appalling mess that the red-headed devil had left behind.

The pillows from her couch were thrown carelessly on the floor, an unfolded blanket laid lifelessly half on the couch and half on the floor, everything from her coffee table drawers had been emptied onto the table and food and empty cans rested all over the floor. Shizuru sneered at the mess, wondering how one girl could make such a mess in just one night. In any case, Shizuru doubted she could enjoy a peaceful shower knowing her living room was in such a untidy state, so she got to cleaning.

The girl worked like she was in a trance and, to some extent, she was. Her mind played that dream over and over again. For some reason, her younger counterpart's smiling face was stained inside her mind. What could've provoked such a dream? That questioned plagued her. Sure, considering yesterday's events, she could understand why Reito was dieing, but why was her child self so un-perturbed by the sight? Something was completely off about the dream and she couldn't tell what it was.

Suddenly, her sensitive ears picked up the sound of her front door being opened and the rustle of bags and papers. She stopped mid-clean up and before she could retreat back into her room, the intruder came waltzing into the living room holding a couple bags and a small stack of papers.

"Oh hey, look, Sleeping Beauty's up. Did your prince come and kiss you?" The newcomer remarked as a cheshire grin formed on her lips.

Shizuru looked up silently, already guessing who the voice belonged to. The girl responded by glaring at the intruder and picking herself up to leave the room.

Once the un-welcome visitor realized she wasn't going to get a verbal replied, she spoke once again, "What? No welcome? No, 'Hey Nao, thanks for doing my shopping and getting my homework?'"

Shizuru continued walking back towards her bedroom, abandoning the idea of a peaceful shower. This time, Nao didn't let her walk away, the red-head grabbed the girl by the wrist and turned her around. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" She yelled, hoping to get a response.

Shizuru didn't look Nao in the eye, she stared at the ground angrily as if it had somehow insulted her. Nao eyed the despondent girl irately, waiting for a reply. When one didn't come, the infuriated red-head tried again, "Are you gonna say something?!"

The tea-drinker brought her gaze up from the floor and glared at Nao, still silent, she tried to rip her wrist out of Nao's grasp, but her efforts fell in vain when Nao gripped tighter and jerked her back. "Listen, Fujino, I'm tryin' to help you out here, the least you could do is say something!" The red-head shouted, becoming irritated by the older woman's behaviour.

A tense silence filled their lungs. Neither woman broke their glare, neither said anything.

"I never asked for your help." The tea-lover declared, her voice just above a whisper.

Nao's lips almost formed into a smile, satisfaction splashed through her body. She had gotten a reply, granted it wasn't the one she wanted, but it was an accomplishment in it's own.

"Yeah, whatever." The red-head said, still not letting her wrist go. "I have your school work, get it done tonight and I'll bring it by to your professers in the morning."

The girl's confusion showed up clearly on her face, an event that could only occur when she dropped her mask. "Why?" Shizuru asked quietly.

"Why-- Do you wanna fail college?" Nao asked, thoroughly confused herself.

"Not that, I've done nothing but ignore you and tell you to go away. And yet you're still here…why?" As the words left her mouth, the tea-drinker averted her gaze back to the floor.

Nao was silent for the longest moment. If Shizuru had looked up during that instant, she would've witnessed Nao's thinking face. This face was just a simple combination of the red-head's furrowed eyebrows and her jaw clenched tight.

"Because…" Nao answered, breaking the silence.

"Because why?" Shizuru whispered, still not returning her gaze to the red-head.

Why? Not even Nao knew, she just felt compelled to be with the girl in her time of need. Of course, telling her that would sound awkward, so she decided against it. "I'm Nao, I don't need a reason." Was her arrogant response. "Now go get washed, you smell like sweat." The red-head ordered as she attempted to push the tawny blonde into the bathroom.

"I'm Shizuru and I say you need a reason." The girl replied, stopping herself from being thrown about by the red-head.

Nao's mouth twisted into a frown, why was this girl so stubborn? "I don't need a reason to need to wanna help someone." She insisted.

Shizuru turned away from the red-head and faced the bathroom door. "Yes you do, human beings are greedy, evil, deceitful creatures, Nao, surely you havesome kind of ulterior motive."

Nao was completely silent, the cause of the silence was shock. She couldn't believe Shizuru actually thought this way. Of course Nao knew that Shizuru had some dark thoughts, but she had always seen the tea-drinker as someone who trusted people easily. Her ears couldn't believe the woman's words, such distrust surely couldn't be living inside of this woman.

As if taking Nao's silence as a response, Shizuru turned around to face the silent girl and spoke again. "So what's your motive? Do you want money? Information? Or perhaps you'd like to get into my pants--"

A loud slap echoed throughout the small apartment. Nao just couldn't believe what she was hearing anymore, she had reached her boiling point. Without warning, she grabbed Shizuru by the shoulders and got in her face.

"What is wrong with you!? I can't believe you just said that! I don't know who or where you picked up that little bit about human beings from, but that's completely idiotic! I can't believe you're that stupid! Wh--" Nao stopped short as she saw Shizuru's pained face. She looked so hurt, just standing there holding her burning cheek with watery eyes.

The tea-drinker's inner spoiled child came out as she roughly pushed the red-head away and yelled at her, "What do you know?! Why can't you just leave me alone?! Why can't you stop being just like her!" Shizuru ran into the bathroom and slammed the door after this statement.

Once inside the bathroom, Shizuru slumped against the wall and sat pressing her knees against her chest, her face buried into her knees and her hands collapsed over her head. In short, she looked like a giant heap of a bed-headed princess. Tears threatened to fall but she blinked them back as she reminded herself of the promise.

Meanwhile, Nao was left stunned outside the door. Her? Who? Who's her? The red-head stalked into the living room and sat down on the couch to process her thoughts. Who was Shizuru referring to? She said that Nao had been acting like 'her'. Could she've been talking about Natsuki Kuga? At the thought, Nao's face twisted in digust; she wanted nothing to do with Kuga, let alone act like her.

The sudded sound of the shower turning on made Nao jump. At the indication, Nao let out a relieved breath, not because Shizuru would smell more bear-able, but because that ment she wasn't crying her eyes out in there. Nao really wouldn't be able to stand her self if she knew she was the single cause of the girl's sobs.

At the thought of Shizuru, Nao hopped off the couch and padded into the kitchen to un-packed the food items she would need from the shopping bags she had brought in earlier. The girl would obviously be getting hungry soon. This morning when Nao went out to do errands, she took almost an hour in the grocery store debating with herself on what food items to buy. She really had no idea what the tea-drinker fancied. After almost pulling all her hair out in frustration, the red-head just settled for the good old American dish of canned spaghetti. Granted it wasn't the fanciest dish out there, but Naofigured it'd be the easiest. After popping two bowls in the microwave, Nao took a seat on the counter so she wouldn't have to stand the whole three minutes the food would take to cook.

Just as the microwave's timer reached the thirty second mark, the obnoxiously ear-piercing ring of the phone caught Nao's attention. She didn't waste time in springing herself off the counter and picking up the phone as to silence it's annoying caw.

"Fujino residence, what?" Nao answered rudely.

"_Hello? Shizuru?" _The voice on the other end sounded like the owner was tired and had just awoken, but Nao insantly recognized the voice as Natsuki Kuga.

"This is Nao. What the fuck are you calling for?" She replied, anger evident in her voice.

"_Nao! Why do you keep answering Shizuru's home phone?!" _Natsuki yelled

"Why do you keep calling?" Nao responded, not dropping the rage and annoyance in her voice that was just building up with each passing second.

Natsuki let out a small groan, _"Because I need to talk to Shizuru!" _Her voice was just as annoyed.

Nao's lips curled into a frown. Did this girl get knocked on the head or something? Ya tell her 'no' and she just calls again with the same plea. "You're not--" Nao started but wasn't able to finish.

Natsuki cut her off,_"Fucking shut-up up, Nao! Where's Shizuru?!" _

Nao shouted back at her, "None of your damn business!"

"_I don't have time for your shit, Nao. This is important! Put Shizuru on the phone!"_

"What could be so important?" Nao challenged her with these words.

Natsuki's end went silent. _"I need some help…" _Her voice came out quiet and timidly.

"Oh? So you only call when you need something, huh?" The red-head asked cynically.

"_That's not it…I just…I really have no one else to turn to…." _Natsuki replied in a docile tone.

"So what? She's your last choice?" She inquired scornfully.

"_No! Damn it Nao, I don't have time to argue with you! Just put Shizuru on the phone!" _The blunette yelled through the phone.

"No time, Kuga? Why, we have all day." Nao answered, her voice full of arrogance. It was apparent to Natsuki that the girl was simply stalling or just being an ass.

"_I only have a certain amount of time to use the phone, Nao, put her on." _Obviously Natsuki was getting desperate seeing as she started to use a normal speaking voice. She had officially put away her intimidating anger for someone it would work on.

"What? Are you using a payphone? Where are you?!"

The other end went silent again.

"Hello?" Nao drawled.

"…_In America…" _The girl replied quietly, almost shamefully.

"America?!" Nao screamed, "What are you in America for?!"

The line dropped into silence for the third time. _"I'm in jail…" _Natsuki admitted shamefully.

This time it was Nao's end that hushed into silence. "You're…in America…in jail…?" She repeated, trying to process this shock.

"_Rub it in, why don't ya…" _Clear annoyance played in her voice.

"And you were gonna ask Fujino to bail you out?" Nao accused, hostility back full force.

"_No…no I wasn't even going to tell her, I'm getting out soon anyway. I was going to ask her to wire me money for a flight back…"_

"Look…Fujino's been going through some stuff right now, I don't think--"

"_Ah, Nao, what was that? I have to hang up, my time's up, I'll call you back tomorrow!" _The click that replaced Natsuki's voice was enough indication for Nao to tell that the girl had hung up..

The red-head placed the phone back onto the receiver and sighed. Her hand made it's way up to her temples and lightly rubbed in circles. America? Really? She couldnt've made things easy and be in jail somewhere local._ Nooo_, she had to get into trouble all the way across the ocean. What could've landed the girl in jail anyway? What'd she do? Steal some mayonnaise? Nao chuckled at the thought.

"Who were you on the phone with?" Shizuru's voice chimed.

Nao whipped her whole body around to find Shizuruwearing nothing but her bathrobe, which gave Nao the impression that she had just gotten out of the shower.

"No one, just a telemarketer." She said evenly, lieing through her teeth.

Shizuru didn't make any indication that she had seen through the lie, "Is that so?" Her usual playful voice was no where to be found.

"Mmm, yeah." Nao made a movetowards the kitchen where the forgotten spaghetti still rested in the microwave that had long past finished it's job. "C'mon, I made some lunch."

Shizuru's bare feet stayed rooted to the ground where she was standing. Nao stopped when she realized the woman wasn't going to follow. "Whattaya doin'? Aren't you hungry?" She asked.

"No…I have no appetite." Shizuru answered quietly. The girl turned around and made her way to leave.

Nao shadowed behind her, "Well how about a drink?"

"I'm not thirsty…" Shizuru told her, still walking.

"Wanna play a board game?" Nao persisted.

"I don't own such things." Shizuru's voice remained unchanged.

"Why don't we go…umm…organize your closet…?" Nao tried, running out of things to keep the girl from returning to her room.

"It's organized enough." Shizuru spoke, getting closer and closer to her bedroom with every step.

"Will you show me how to prepare tea?" Nao asked, hoping that the tea bit would perk the distant girl's attention.

It did nothing of the sort. "Maybe some other time."

Finally, they reached Shizuru's bedroom door. As Shizuru opened it, Nao tried one last time. "Will you show me where you keep your…nail clippers?"

Shizuru still remained with her back to the red-head. "It's in the bathroom." That was the last she heard before the door slammed in her face.

It baffled her, it really did. Why did the red-head just insist on staying here in an attempt to take care of her? She must be after something…She couldn't just be here for her. No one wanted to stay with her unless they were getting something out of it. And Natsuki just proved this point to the tea-drinker even more. Once the blunette no longer needed her laptop, the girl became more and more distant until, eventually, was now no where to be found. So then in that case, Reito must've also had some kind of secretobjective as well…Shizuru shook her head. Reito wouldn't do that, he wasn't that kind of person.

Seeing as she was stuck in the private confines of her room, Shizuru had nothing more to do than lay in bed and think.

Thoughts and images floated through her mind, an overflow of mental water washed her brain of it's motor skills. At the moment, she felt as if she forgot how to move, how to talk, how to breath. So the girl just laid there, breath hitched in her throat, remembering memories of the past that seemed so long ago. Most of her reminiscences were about the blissful times she had spent with her recently deceased friend. Her mind didn't linger long though, in thinking of the boy, her thoughts un-obediently flashed to the fateful moment that ended Reito's life.

_It was sunny out, the perfect day to go out and spend a nice day at the park or just take a stroll somewhere. Reito saw this as an oppurtunity to cheer up his recently depressed friend. And who better to bring along on this little adventure than the ever engergetic Mikoto. It pretty much guaranteed that there'd be no gloomy or depressing conversations._

_The trio was just coming back from a lovely afternoon at the park and were about to top it off with some ice cream. As they were crossing the intersection to get back, it happened. _

_The cargo truck drove along the road, oblivious to the fact that it's back door's lock was slowly opening every time he hit a bump. Everything after that seemed to happened in slow-motion. As he sped by, he had hit his final bump and the lock could take no more; it flipped open and gravity ripped out the various appliances and furniture. The girls were right in the line of fire of a couch, preparing for a heavy blow, Shizuru grabbed onto Mikoto and made an attempt to protect the little girl from most of the blow. Before the flying furniture could crush them, Reito heroically pushed the girl's out of the line of it's fire and back-stepped before it could squash him either._

_When Shizuru looked up from the side-walk, she could almost see what was going to happen next and her hand flew over Mikoto's eyes instantly. Although Reito had escape death from the couch, he had failed to notice the refrigerator soaring towards him. She tried to find her voice to scream, but nothing came out. When Reito had finally taken notice of the flying kitchen appliance headed in his direction, it was already too late; his fate was sealed. He silently accepted this and quickly whipped his head at Shizuru and threw her a sad smile before the fridge hit it's target. _

Suddenly, her bedroom door snapped open, knocked Shizuru out of the nightmare-ish memory and woke up her motor skills.

"You've got a call." Nao told her, holding out the cordless phone.

Shizuru gently and silently took the phone into her own hands. "Hello?" She answered quietly.

"_Hello, I'm with the Fuuka Morgue, I believe a friend of yours, Reito Kanazaki, has recently passed on?" _It was a proffesional voice on the line.

"Yes…That's correct." Shizuru's voice had no pretense of a confident woman, it sounded like a timid young child.

"_Would you happen to have any contact information for his parents or any other family member?"_

Shizuru was silent for a short moment. What should she tell them? Mikoto wouldn't know how to deal with all this and Reito had long lost contact with his foster family. She would just have to make do. "I apologize, I do not. Any business concerning his death, please just contact me." What else could she do?

"_How exactly are you connected to the victim?" _

'We're best friends. Don't worry, you can totally trust me.' That sounds just so believable. The girl could do nothing but lie. "He was my fiance."

"_Oh, I'm sorry for your loss. As you wish, I'll contact you with anything concerning this case. Thank you for your time."_

"You're welcome, have a nice day." And with that, the call was over.

Nao scoffed, "You're such a liar."

"How would Nao know if I was making up lie?" Shizuru inquired, her voice holding a hint of amusement.

"Tch, really? You're like the biggest lesbian I've ever met, there's no way you'd be engaged to a guy." Nao answered indifferently.

"Hmm…" No matter how alike they acted, Nao wasn't as fun to tease as Natsuki was. "If you have no other business, Nao, I'd like to be left alone." The amusement in her voice was once again absent.

Nao didn't seem to like this idea, "I still have some business in here…."

"Oh?" Shizuru spoke.

"Yeah, umm…" Nao hesitated and her eyes bounced around the room.

"Stalling is impolite, please finish your business and leave." Shizuru told her as she set the cordless phone down onto her end table.

Nao looked as if she just experienced a huge epiphany. "I wanna know about your family."

Shizuru winced. Was she stalling or could she be interested for some reason? In any case, there's no way she'd just gab on about her family to the red-head. "There's nothing to know."

"Yeah there is, like, what are your brothers' names, do you have any pets…things like that." Nao answered as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

Shizuru found it odd that Nao was interested in her family all of a sudden. Why was this girl so interested in talking to her? "I--" Shizuru cut herself off as a thought clicked into her mind. "How did you know I had siblings?" She interrogated.

Nao seemed to jump at this accusation and her eyes nervously looked everywhere except at her. "I…uh…Well I was bored, see…and uh…"

Shizuru's gaze hardened as she already knew where this was going, "And Nao decided it was alright to go through my personal belongings." She finished.

"I…yeah…" Nao answered as she looked away in guilt.

Shizuru shook her head in disappointment, "I don't enjoy invasions of privacy, Nao."

"Well I know now, can't go back and change the past." Shizuru let out a bitter chuckle, the red-head regained her wit quickly.

Shizuru got quiet for a moment as she reflected on her past. "That's right, isn't it? The past is permanent, you make one mistake and there's nothing you can do to fix it…."

Self-pity consumed her as these words traveled out of her mind and conveyed themselves through her mouth. The tea-drinker sullenly and leisurely pulled the covers up just enough so that she could slip into the warm embrace of her bed.

As she got settled, Nao broke her silence, "But the future is there so you can learn from those mistakes and keep yourself from making them again."

Shizuru made herself comfortable against the pillows and offered Nao a ghost of a smile, "I suppose that's accurate."

The atmosphere was now less tense and actually felt like a sprinkle of relaxation instead. Shizuru was now getting used to her house guest. She felt as if she could loosen her mask around Nao at the moment, she felt as if no judgement would be thrown at her by the red-head if she erased her mask completely. The tea-drinker sunk into the pillows and shut her eyes in disregard of the red-head still on the edge of her bed.

The silence soothed her and sleep was starting to overcome her senses. Right as she almost became dead to the world, she felt the other side of her bed become occupied. Instantly, the tawny-blonde adjusted her head to see the red-headed intruder making herself comfy under the covers.

"Nao..?"

The red-head laid down and turned her back to the crimson-eyed girl. "Shut-up, the couch hurts my back. Besides, you'll get nightmares if you sleep alone."

A small smile lit up Shizuru's face at Nao's actions, it reminded her of…No…this is Nao, not Natsuki. At this thought, Shizuru's expression became solemn. They were alike, yes, but they were both also completely different. She couldn't keep thinking of them in association, she needed to look at them as two different people and stop comparing them to each other.

The tea-drinker had a problem with that, and she knew it. She would compare two people and decide whether or not she liked them from this deliberation instead of seeing them as a their own person. Before Natsuki came along, she compared everyone and anyone who wanted to be her friend to Reito as he was her ideal friend. Then came in Natsuki, after meeting the blunette, the tawny blonde compared all her 'fangirls' to the mayo-addict and to this day, none of them really measured up. And now she was trying to do the same thing to Nao…that simply wouldn't do.

'_She doesn't deserve that and you know it. She's Nao, she's her own person.' _The girl thought.

Lost in her self-scolding, she absent-mindedly snuggled close to Nao's back and dozed off. And that was it, she was out like a light. The world was dead to her and vice-versa, her sleep was so deep that she didn't hear Nao calling to her no more than ten minutes later.

"Fujino…"

No answer.

"Hey…Fujino."

Silence was her reply once again.

"Fujino!"

The girl must've realized that she wasn't going to get a reply as she let out a frustrated groan. Nevertheless, she tried one last time.

"Fujino…I have to pee!"

Taciturnity greeted her once more. She did her best to get herself in fetal position in an attempt to hold back her urge to use the restroom but only managed to get about half-way there seeing as Shizuru seemed to be holding her in a death-grip.

'_I think this is worse than the couch…' _Was her last thought before she joined Shizuru in dream land.

* * *

**An update?! Holy-moly! Guess who's gonna show up in the next chapter!....No! It's not Lady GaGa! (**this time...**)**

**Anywho, I've already started the next chapter, which is certainly something rare seeing as I usually randomly start the next chapter a couple weeks after I posted the last chapter because I do have a life I need to attend to lol. But it was late at night and I was pumped to start the next chapter. I also finished a picture that I've been neglecting, I finally colored it, go look at it, its like a cover art for this fic** **http://nuthinnice872 . deviantart . com/art/Lost-in-the-Dark-153262347**

**Remember, my friendly readers: Reviews let me know what I am doing right and doing wrong and feed my attention loving ego. So leave them! **

**Oh yes, by the way, this is infact a ShizNatNao, but the end pairing is not final, it really depends on how many readers are into which ever pairing. Or I could surprise you all and just kill them all off by ravinous kitchen appliances lol. In any case, reviews help me decide in the content for the next chapter and help me imagine the ending (Which is ever changing in my mind.)**


	4. Anguish in the Darkness

**Reviews people, REVIEWS! To unlock the next chapter where NATSUKI could very well be in and/or mentioned again, then REVIEW!**

**Enjoy your read.**

* * *

Tranquillity. That's what Shizuru felt when she woke up the next morning, snuggled to Nao's back. The red-head was still dead asleep so the tea-drinker opted to make herself some breakfast, for, she hadn't eaten since the _incident_. Carefully and soundlessly, she crept out of bed as to not disturb the sleeping devil.

As soon as Shizuru took no more than three steps out of her bedroom, as if on cue, the phone started crying. She rushed to silence the shrill noise.

"Hello?" She answered politely.

"_Hey--Shizuru?!" _The voice on the other ended was instantly recognized by the tea-drinker. How could she not distinguish it? It belonged to the girl she had been obsessed with for years.

"Ara, Natsuki finally breaks her silence. What could be the occasion?" Her voice did not sound pleased. It was somewhere between teasing and sadistic anger.

"_I don't need an occasion to wanna talk to a lovely lady, do I?" _Any other time, Shizuru's inner fangirl would be jumping up and down and blushing like an idiot at the confidence that bordered on flirty in Natsuki's voice. But right now, she was less than amused and flattery wasn't going to work (though that inner fangirl almost started jumping).

"It sure seems like it lately, there's been no word from Natsuki to anyone." With these words the other end went silent.

"_I know, I just got wrapped up in…some stuff." _The blunette's voice got quiet towards the end of her statement.

"Ara, so Natsuki's been too busy to even leave me a text message?"

"…_I didn't have my phone for awhile…" _

"I'm sure." Was Shizuru's sarcastic reply.

"_Look, Shizuru, I know you're angry, and I'll explain everything when I get back. But for now, I need to talk to Nao." _

"She's--" Shizuru stopped, "Why would Natsuki be calling my home phone to speak with Nao?" On the other end, the crimson eyed girl heard the blunette choke on air.

"_I…uh…I figured she might be nearby, ya know?" _She replied along with a nervous laugh.

"Is that so?" Shizuru wasn't convinced. "Why would Natsuki think that?"

"_I don't know, you guys seem close-ish…" _

"Hmm, perhaps I should rephrase my question," Shizuru stated. "Why is Natsuki lying to me?"

Before Natsuki could think of a rebuttle, the red-head stepped out into the kitchen, rubbing crud out of her eye.

"Ara? Nao seems to have such perfect timing." Shizuru called, a cruel smile forming as she heard the blunette swallow hard on the other end of the phone.

"Hah?" Was all Nao could conjure up as her mind hadn't fully awakened yet.

"You see, I'm unraveling a mystery right now, perhaps Nao would be kind enough to help me?"

Shizuru watched as the red-head seated herself on the counter, "We playin' Clue?" She asked.

'_We sure are, there's no point though, for you see, I already know the culprit; it was me, with a teapot, in the kitchen. I bet you can already guess who my victim was, ne, Nao-chan?~' _Shizuru thought cynically.

"Actually, it's more like Nacy Drew, would Nao care to play with me?" The tea-drinker asked, feigning cutesy-ness.

"_Shizuru, what are you doing?" _It's too bad Shizuru was the only one to hear Natsuki's question as Nao was on the other side of the room.

"Sure…why not…" Nao answered, still groggy and not really processing much.

"_Shizuru!" _Natsuki must've been getting nervous after hearing Nao's response.

Ignoring her, Shizuru calmly pressed herself against the counter, oppisite to the red-head. "Let's see if we can solve this together." She stated. "Why does Natsuki call my home phone looking for Nao?"

Nao jumped, the accusation was enough to wake her up. "Wh--why does she? I don't know, that chick's always been stupid, huh?" She replied, not really sounding convinced in her own lie.

Shizuru sighed, so they want to play it the hard way, huh? "There's no use in lying, Nao, Natsuki has already told me everything."

"_Stop!" _Natsuki screamed, obviously getting desperate.

"Really? She said she wasn't going to tell you at all." Nao said in surprise.

"_She's lying, Nao! I haven't said anything!" _Natsuki shouted, trying to reach Nao's ears. The only thing the red-head could hear though, was a quiet muffle, for, the phone was firmly pressed into Shizuru's shoulder.

"She must have experienced a change of heart, now, how about Nao explains her side of the story?" Though this came out more like a statement than a question.

"_Nao, no!"_

"Well, when she called a couple days ago, I was like, "You're in jail!?" and she told me that she was calling to see if you'd, like, wire her money to get outta America and I was trying to tell her that you were going through some shit, but she had to hang up and she said she'd call back tommorrow." Nao explained all in one breath.

Shizuru nodded calmly, her face solemn as ever as she put the phone back to her ear. "So Natsuki has taken up a life of crime in America and only wants to call me when I'm of some kind of use?"

"_No! Goddamnit! If you don't know what happen then shut your fucking mouth! I'm not a criminal!" _Shizuru's stomache twisted in rage, from being yelled at by Natsuki and fear for the same reason. No signs of either were apparent in her voice, however.

"Ara, Natsuki shouldn't use such abusive language towards a lady, I was simply trying to find out what is going on, seeing as Natsuki keeps lying to me." She replied.

Nao, whom had been silently watching the scene unfold with wide eyes, just processed she had been manipulated into ratting on the blunette. "Oh shit…" She muttered.

"_Why would I tell you something so damn embarrassing?!" _She yelled.

"Friends tell eachother things, correct? No matter how embarrassing." Shizuru answered as calm as ever. "Remember that disgusting, embarrassing secret I told you?"

Both girls knew what she was refering to; her proclamation of love for the blunette. Nao, however, was in the dark and she figured it was some kind of secret, like, the tea-drinker had a fetish for feet covered in peanut butter or something creepy like that.

"_Shizuru….I--" _Natsuki started only to be cut off by the tea-drinker.

"Enough. I really do not want to go over this right now." Shizuru replied sternly.

Natsuki's line went silent instantly but soon picked back up, _"Shizuru, I'm coming back to Japan some time soon, I'm going to drop by your house and just tell you everything in person." _

"Ara? Is that so?" Shizuru challenged, feeling a twinge of anger as the blunette told her what _she _was going to do.

"_Yeah…"_ Then her side dropped into silence once more, and Shizuru did nothing to aid it. She simply waited for the blunette to utter something else.

"_And…Shizuru?" _The blunette finally said quietly.

"Yes, Natsuki?" The girl replied in a composed manner.

It was quiet again for a moment, and the hesitance was apparent on Nastuki's part. _"….I didn't think it was disgusting."_ She responed in a timid whisper, almost unheard to the girl's ears.

Shizuru's eyes widened a fraction, surprise shot through her body and the butterflies in her stomache were futtering furiously. Before she could even think of an intelligent reply, the phone clicked in idication of the blunette ended the call.

Slowly, her hand retracted from her ear and brought the phone into her line of sight, staring at it blankly, her mind replayed that last sentence.

'_She meant…that she…Does she…? What?!' _Shizuru felt butterflies and her inner fangirl was getting ready to bounce off the walls, but she stopped herself as the dark part of her concious perked up. _'No, there's no way Natsuki would've said that, I must still be a little out of it. Imagining things….'_

Nao's voice brought Shizuru out of her thoughts. "What'd she say?" She demanded.

Shizuru turned calmly to the girl, "Ara? I believe Nao is in no position to be demanding things."

"What?" Nao replied in lame confusion.

"Why didn't you tell me about Natsuki calling? Why did you keep it a secret?" The tawny blonde accused, having a hard time keeping her rage at bay.

"I…." Nao's words trailed off and got quiet until her words were inaudible to Shizuru, whom was across the room.

"What was that?" The tea drinker asked, cupping a hand to her ear for emphasis.

The red head glance at Shizuru in irritation. "I didn't think you'd want to talk to her."

"But Nao knows that I've been worried about Natsuki for a long while." At this point, Shizuru's nerves were diminishing, one by one, very quickly.

"Well, I didn't want you to be burdened by her, chances are, she's only gonna hurt you again." Nao turned her head as she crossed her arms, avoiding the crimson gaze.

Shizuru didn't respond. She didn't know how to respond, so she simply walked out of the room without a word.

Nao didn't try to stop her this time, she simply watched the older girl leave her presence. Was the girl angry? Was she going to cry? Did she suddnely have to use the bathroom? If that's so, following her would be awkward….Thoughts consumed her mind until a loud growl ripped her back into reality. She whipped her head around in alarm, trying to find the source of the scary roar.

'_Did a bear break in?! Oh shit! Shizuru's out there…unarmed!!' _With that thought, Nao was about to dart out of the kitchen to save her friend from furry dangers, but the growl happened again, this time, she found where it came from… It was no bear, it was just her stomache saying, 'Hey, bitch! Feed me!' But instead of words, it came out in growls, because that's tummy language.

Feeling foolish, Nao slowly retracted back into the kitchen and started up some pancakes and eggs. Once the food was done, she set out everything on the table. The red head went on a search for the tawny blonde, finding her passed out on the couch. This chick sure did sleep a lot. Nao sighed and tried to shake her awake. The girl wouldn't budge.

"Fujino…Fujino…Hey! You gotta wake up! You're gonna die of malnourishment then Kuga's gonna get here and be like, _**"Why Shizuru no move? What you do?"**_." Nao explained to the unconcious girl, her Natsuki impression sounding like a caveman. "Then I'ma be blamed for killing you, then I'll be arrested and end up dropping the soap…" Nao kept on rambling, unbeknownst to her that Shizuru had already woken up and was simply listening to the girl's rant.

Shizuru cracked an eye, "Nao, you don't have very good story telling skills, perhaps you should tell a happier story?"

The red head jumped slightly but quickly covered it up with a grin, "What kind of happy story?" She asked.

The tea drinker placed a finger on her chin to give out the pretense of thinking, "Why not one about a girl named Nao feeding a girl named Shizuru breakfast so she doesn't have to get up?"

Nao let out a chuckle and without a word, she got up and walked out of the room, returning with Shizuru's plate. "How 'bout you feed yourself?" She suggested, handing the girl her plate.

Shizuru sat up and took the plate from her. "I suppose that's fine as well…" She said, digging in.

Food felt so good in her empty stomach. The tea drinker's energy was slowly and steadily rising with every bite. She actually had to stop herself from shoving it down her throat.

After a good silent two minutes of eating, Nao started up a conversation. "So..when's Reito's funeral?" That was the worst possible opener, but nothing else came to the red head's mind and it kind of just popped out without much thought.

Suddenly, Shizuru stopped eating, her fork stopped moving and her gaze set upon Nao. Silence prevailed for, what seemed like, the longest time.

"Uh…Sorry, probably not the best topic…" Nao said.

Slowly, Shizuru looked down and placed her fork down on her plate. "No, it's alright, Nao…"

Silence again. The tawny blonde ate a couple more bites of her food before answering the red head's question, "Two days from now…" Then she fell back into a sullen silence.

Nao nodded and followed her example. But, curiousity piped up again and the red head asked another question, "What are you gonna say to Kuga when she gets here?"

Not looking up, "I don't know…First, I want the reason as to why she's in America." Her answer was slightly distant.

"Yeah, it better be a damn good reason too, or else I'm giving her an old-fashioned facial reconstuction!" Nao agreed, pumping her fist.

Shizuru shot her an amused grin, "Would you really try to hit Natsuki?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to beat the snot out of the mutt!" She called.

"What if she doesn't have any snot in her nose?" The tea drinker joked.

"Idiot, it was a metaphor…" Nao remarked.

Shizuru's chest tightened for a moment at the insult. 'Idiot'….That's what Natsuki always used to call her…and the way she said it too…Before she could even become saddened, though, she pushed the thoughts to the back of her head and concentrated on the girl in front of her.

Throwing her a ghost of a smile, Shizuru stood up with her empty plate. But Nao pushed her back onto the couch and grabbed her plate.

"Uh, no. You're not moving anywhere, today, you won't be lifting a finger." Nao said, holding both their plates like a waitress.

Shizuru raised a brow, "Oh?"

"Yes, after you have some tea, I'll be treating you to a massage and then a foot bath followed by a manicure." She explained with as much courtesy as she could.

"Ah? Will Nao be joining me in the tub as well?" Shizurue teased.

"Ah…That would be a negative." The devil responsed and turned to the kitchen so the ex-Kaichou wouldn't see her cheeks.

Once Nao had disappeared into the kitchen, Shizuru relaxed against the couch cushions. Her eyes observed the whole living room, for, it contained many memories. Looking at it, nostalgia hit her like a ton of bricks. Memories of Reito, Natsuki and simple memories of herself enjoying a peaceful silence all by her lonesome, came back as she inspected the room. Some memories were so vivid, the girl could swear she could actually see them happening before her; it was actually slightly spooky.

When Shizuru's gaze swept over the recliner chair, she could swear Reito was sitting there looking at her in anguish. Wait, that's not a memory….that's never happened. The tea drinker rubbed her eyes, but Reito was still sitting there. Confused, she looked away, then looked back. He was still there.

"Reito?" She whispered anxiously. What the hell? He's dead! He died! She had seen it!

The boy didn't respond, he simply continued staring at her with that pained expression on his face. He looked as if her wanted to speak, as if he wanted to tell her something, but he couldn't.

Without a second thought, Shizuru jumped off the couch and rushed toward the chair. She reached her hand out to him, trying to touch his cheek, but, to her surprise, it went straight through. Quickly, she retracted her hand, "What is this? A ghost?" She muttered.

Reito furrowed his brows and persisted to stare at her in anguish. Suddenly, he disappeared, gone as if it was some kind of magic trick.

"Reito!? Wait!" The tawny blonde called.

At the sound of her panicked voice, Nao ran in. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Shizuru, still in shock, did nothing but stare at the chair. What should she do? Tell Nao about Reito and make her think she was insane? No…surely she'd become weirded out and leave.

'_But wait, isn't that what I want? For Nao to leave so I can be alone?' _The thought brought about many more thoughts. Until one finally prevailed, _'But…is that what I really want? Am I actually starting to enjoy her company?'_ Questions and questions but no straight answers in sight. What was she to do?

"Nothing…nothing…" The girl finally decided on.

Nao placed a hand on her hip, "Then why the hell are you up?" She interogated.

"I believe twenty questions is unnecessary." Shizuru announced. "Maybe you should back in the kitchen, miss slave." She commanded light-heartedly.

"Wha-- Slave?!" The red head yelled in protest, throwing her arms down. "I am _no one's slave!"_

"You're mine for today. Did Nao not say this herself?" The girl questioned.

"Wha-- Well-- I didn't mean it like--" Nao struggled for a rebuttle and stopped when she heard Shizuru's light chuckle. The red-head glared, "Shut-up, just shut-up." She said as she turned back into the kitchen.

Shizuru's smile only lasted until she heard the kitchen door shut. In one instant, her face changed from care-free smile to a grim frown.

There were much too many questions in her mind to fit her fancy. Why was Natsuki in her current predicament? Was she starting to yearn for Nao's company? Was that really Reito's ghost? Why did he look so pained? Was she going insane all over again?

All this pondering and unanswered questions made her head hurt. The girl could do nothing but rub her temples and attempt to push these issues to the back of her mind until they could be answered properly. Maybe she would find the answers sometime along the road, but for now, she needed to think about the present. Like the lovely foot massage she would be receiving or what she should wear to her best friend's funeral.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Shizuru whipped her head towards Nao, who had just entered the room with a cup of tea and some lotion.

"Time for your foot massage, miss." The red-head annouced, handing her the tea.

Focusing on the foot massage seemed like the best option at the moment...


	5. No Aid to the Dark

How do you go to your best friend's funeral? Do you walk in and pretend everything's okay? Everything's chipper and dandy?

How could anything be okay at this point?

"You ready for this Fujino?" Nao asked as she fiddled with the strap of her black dress.

Shizuru nodded solemnly as they entered the building together. When they crossed the threshold of the room where the casket was being held, Shizuru's red headed companion decided it'd be best to hang out in the back while Shizuru approached the casket to say her prayer and see her friend's face one more time.

Now walking alone, the tawny blonde took her time to get to the open casket. With every step, her chest tightened, the butterflies in her stomach flew around more and more violently and her feet felt like stopping. But she kept moving.

After what felt like hours, she, at long last, made it to the coffin. She shut her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. It was only after a few moments passed by did she finally have the courage to open her ruby eyes and set her gaze upon her friend.

Peaceful. He looked simply as if he had clumsily fallen asleep in an open coffin and he would spring back to life the moment she became upset. But he didn't. He would never again.

Thoughts like this didn't help the tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted to be strong, she wanted to show Reito, where ever he was, that she could be fine on her own and he wouldn't have to worry. But it was hard to suppress the oncoming wave of tears that she had been holding back for so long.

They simply flowed out like a dam had just busted. In an attempt to hide her tears, Shizuru put her hands over her face. Backing up, she conveniently ended up knocking into a chair and finding herself a seat to cry in. Never in her life had she cry this much, and never in her life had she felt so terrible, so miserable. Now she really was alone.

Always had she thought that as long as Reito was around, she'd be fine. Even if Natsuki rejected her, even if the world turned against her, even if things turned for the worst, even if she got fat, ugly and lazy, she was sure Reito'd be there to assure her of the best, to be her friend in the worst of times.

Well that little expectation was recently shattered considering this turn of events.

Who could she trust now? Who was she even close to? Natsuki immediately came to mind, but she was across the ocean; not much support there.

Haruka? No, the girl was a friend, but not as nearly as close to her Reito or even Natsuki.

Who else?

….Nao?

The girl had been there during there through this whole thing, she was definitely a candidate, but considering their past and their unspoken truce that only happened recently, she wasn't going to take the center stage just yet.

In the midst of crying, she couldn't help but notice someone sit down next to her. Peeking out of her cupped hands, which were directed at the ground, she spotted a pair of feet, which were obviously that of a males. Slowly looking up to see the face, she was simply astonished at the sight. No, more than astonished; speechless, overwhelmed, amazed, flabbergasted even!

The man lying in the coffin in front of her was now sitting next to her, looking on in grief at the casket.

Eyes wide, throat dry and body stiff, she called out his name, "Reito?"

The man turned his attention to her, instantly his features morphed into a young man with blonde hair and side burns. Shizuru's face was twisted in confusion.

"Are you okay, Shizuru?" The young man asked the teary-eyed woman.

"N-no…No, Tate, I'm fine…" She said slowly, silently recovering from the small shock.

He put his hand on her back, "This must be pretty hard on you." Tate spoke sympathetically.

The woman smiled bitterly, "You, on the other hand, must be delighted to shake off your love rival, is that correct?"

Tate's expression became shocked, then, almost angry, "Even now, making jokes…" He trailed off quietly, went silent for a moment, then turned to her. "Is it in your genes to be annoying and extremely inappropriate?" He asked in what seemed like annoyance.

"It might be." She replied coyly.

He sighed, "You didn't change much, still annoying."

Shizuru giggled despite herself, "Isn't that why you love me?"

Seeing the boy brought back so many good memories. So many memories of all three of them being together in the Student Council Room, laughing, joking, messing around, planning pranks to play on Haruka…It really made her feel better.

Tate cracked a smile at the girl, "It could be that…or it could be because you showed me how to be such an amazing kisser." He responded teasingly.

Shizuru sniffed and wiped her eye with the heel of her hand, "Please, someone had to teach you boys how to, it's not like you were going to learn from someone better than me." She told him smugly.

He smiled, "Well, you being the whore of the group-"

Tate was cut off by Shizuru slapping his arm, "Shut-up!" She said as she giggled.

He laughed too, "C'mon, you know it's the truth!"

They laughed quietly and sat in a light silence for a minute, both looking at Reito's coffin.

"It's kind of like a reunion…except Reito fell asleep or something!" Tate said jokingly.

Shizuru didn't make eye contact, she gave a ghost of a smile. "I had so many things to say to him…I wanted us to get old and we could sit in our little rocking chairs and whistle at women together…"

Tate peeked over to see if the woman next to him was simply making a jest…she wasn't. Her face was completely serious.

The man let out an unsure chuckle, "I guess there's still me. I wouldn't mind being a-"

Tears silently made their way down Shizuru's face, she wasn't angry nor happy. She didn't even seem to be paying attention to the boy anymore, lost in her thoughts would be an accurate description. This sight, however, made Tate stop mid-sentence and panic a little.

"H-hey, don't cry I was only joking!" He said, patting her shoulder.

The girl made no indication that she had heard him, she simply found shelter in his chest and cried into it. The blonde boy rubbed her back as she cried.

'_One minute she's fine, the next she's using me as a tissue…I'll never understand women…' _Tate thought to himself.

In the back of the room, Nao watched the exchange between the two friends. She sat cross-armed, narrowing her eyes at the boy every once in a while. She had seen everything from him sitting down, to them giggling about something and now this. This whole little comforting scene.

It made her sick for some reason.

She couldn't stand it. It was pissing her off.

Never one to make a scene in a funeral home, Nao decided to go outside for some fresh air.

As soon as she got out there, she was greeted with people in black getting out of their cars, walking into the building. Probably friends and family of Reito.

One in particular caught her eye. A family of six getting out of a sleek limousine. Five men, one woman. Nao looked them over.

The first man was old, presumably the father. His hair line was starting to recede, and parts of his hair had already grown from black to gray. For an old guy, he looked built in his tux.

The woman attached to his arm was most likely his wife. She wasn't as old as him, but she was getting there. Intsead of a black dress, she wore a dark yukata. Her honey colored hair was pulled back into a neat bun. She held her head high with her nose in the air and walked gracefully. A snob if Nao had ever seen one.

Next to the snob woman was a man who looked like he was in his late twenties. Their son, maybe? He bore a remarkable resemblance to the older man, so it was a definite possibility. He walked calmly, his eyes were kind. Oddly enough, he kind of reminded Nao of a blonde haired Reito in a tux.

Standing a little way away from the blonde Reito was a man younger man. He stepped with his hands in his pockets and a frown adorning his face. His straight black hair was longer yet well combed. His tux was obviously personally fitted for him. A snob, from the looks of it, just like the woman.

Walking next to him, another man, this time a bit older, was also walking with his hand in his pockets. However, this man didn't look prissy, he looked cocky. His shaggy brown hair was a bit shorter than the younger boy next to him. It didn't come across as straight and flat though, it definitely had volume, it looked thick.

In front of all of them, a boy, who looked not two years older than herself, walked backwards, so that he could face the group of people, yet still walk quickly. He seemed like the life of the group, for, he was the only one smiling. Instead of hair that was left to hang dead, he had his hair up in spikes. His hair color took after the woman's but obviously he didn't inherit her vigor.

As the got closer, Nao continued to watch them. Within a moments time, she could hear what they were saying.

"C'mon, c'mon, you guys are so slow! 'Zuru's probably in there waiting for us!" The youngest male cried as he quickened his pace.

'Zuru? _Shi_zuru?…Oh no…they couldn't be….

"Boo-hoo, I'm sure the princess can give us a minute." The black haired boy called.

Come to think of it, they do bare resmeblance…

"Boys. We are here for a funeral, not a reunion, you had better not make a scene." The woman berated sharply.

That is some Kyoto heavy accent. The two boys had it lightly, but this woman layed it on thick. It would make sense if…

"Come now, dear, the boys must be excited to see their sister after such a long while." The older man spoke in heavy Kyoto-ben as well.

Sister. So…so that really is….

"I will never understand why they are so excited to see such a girl." The woman said.

Shizuru's family.

"I am certainly not, mother." The black haired boy spoke.

"Oh, Takashi, no need to hide it, you can be excited." The blonde Reito announced.

Takashi pushed his hands in his pockets roughly, "I would never be excited to see that-"

The spikey haired child put a hand over Takashi's mouth, "You shouldn't curse in the presence of a lady!" He reprimanded, refering to his mother.

Takashi ripped his hand off his mouth, "Shin, what have I told you about touching me?" He hissed.

Shin smiled happily, "Do you actually think I was listening?"

The black haired boy growled at him, about to retort angrily, but was cut off by the woman.

"I will not tell you boys again. Enough." Instantly, they became calm and listened to their mother. "You see what this girl does to our family?" The woman said as she turned to her husband. Obviously she was referring to Shizuru.

Nao glared at the woman, she didn't like her already. How are you gonna trash talk your own daughter? She could finally understand why Shizuru avoided talking about her family, they were a dysfunctional bunch of freaks!

They walked right past her into the funeral home, not even giving her a second glance. She followed the circus in.

By the time they got back in, Shizuru was done crying and now she was praying at Reito's side, Tate still next to her. Nao gritted her teeth.

"'Zuru!" Shin yelled, as he ran toward the woman.

Shizuru turned around as graceful and calm as ever. She embraced the boy and stepped back to look him over, commenting on his growth, to which he grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

The rest of the circus calmly took their seats, perhaps pretending to not know the boy. Shizuru and Shin walked together back to the family so Shizuru could greet them.

Nao decided to stand only close enough to hear what they were saying. She didn't really belong at this funeral seeing as she hadn't known Reito. She was here as Shizuru's support, so therefore, she would wait until Shizuru was again alone to re-group.

The young tea lover hugged two of her brothers, waved at Takashi, and bowed to her parents. She took a seat next to blonde Reito and Shin sat on her other side.

"Shizuru, how have your studies been?" Blonde Reito asked, trying to start conversation.

"Quite well, Toro." She replied.

"I heard you were at the top of your university." He inquired.

Her mother was now intrigued, she leaned forward and raised an eye-brow.

"Yes, I am within the top percentage of my entire university." Shizuru clarified.

"And didn't you graduate at the top of your class in high school?" Toro inquired once more.

Shizuru smiled politely, "I did."

Her mother, of course, threw in her two cents, "Gloating is quite rude. I should hope you don't go around bragging like that."

The younger woman's face didn't falter, her calm smile stayed in place, "Of course not, mother, I apologize for my behavior."

By this point, Nao had to restrain herself from throwing in _her_two cents. Which wouldn't really be her opinion, it'd just be telling Shizuru's mother off.

"So, Toro, how is your training going?" Shizuru asked, knowing that her mother wouldn't reply.

Her father piped in, "He's doing a great job!" He said as he slapped Toro's back. "I feel safe leaving Fujino Corp. in his hands already!"

Toro let out a chuckle, "Father…"

Shizuru smiled at the exchange, "Kai, settling down yet?" She teased.

The brown haired man, who had been silent up until that point, shot her a look of amusement, "Never." He said smiling. "How about you? Find the right gir- errr….person yet?"

Nao watched as both sets of eyes suddenly flick to their mother in slight distraught and panic. Whatever happened, their mother's lips turned down in distaste, her eyebrows rose, and her eyes hardened. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath. After a moment, Shizuru's mother stood up and excused herself.

This time, Shizuru's smile fell for a millisecond, but was right back up the next. "Ara…It seems we've upset her…" She stated.

Her father turned to her, "Don't fret, darling, you know your mother is just uncomfortable about…you know…" He sent her a reassuring smile. "I think I'll go check on her."

After their father left, Takashi felt the need to comment, "Everytime we get together, the princess always has to upset mother. Sometimes I wonder why she didn't put you up for adoption." He spat.

Ouch. That one had to hurt. Nao clenched her fists, she wanted nothing more than to puch the kid, but of course, they were at a funeral, it would be very imposing to put yet another in a coffin.

"Always the bitter one, aren't you, Takashi?" Shizuru spoke calmly, but her smile was a bit demented. "It appears you never retrieved the stick that disappeared up your rear."

Nao snickered. Nice one.

The mans face turned sour, his teeth were obviously clenched, then he blew out some air and relaxed again. "All that time away from home gave you a smart mouth, didn't it." He replied.

Shizuru tilted her head, smile still intact. "It would seem so, brother dear." She said. "Now, If you'll excuse me, it seems I've been ignoring my friend and she's become eager to join our conversation." Shizuru explained, shooting an amused glance at Nao, who was surprised to be found out.

"Ah…Uh…no. I was just standing here…" The red-head stuttered, trying to find a suitable excuse for eavesdropping, but only drew a blank.

The tea-addict smirked at the girl struggle for words, Takashi, however, frowned. "Why doesn't it surprise me that you have such insolent friends?"

Nao scowled. This kid was just _asking _to be hit now. "I don't know what the fuck your problem is bu-" Shizuru hastily cut the red head off.

"Brother, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't insult my company." She said.

"Why not? You always bring in the most violent people. Like that girl…what was her name?" Takashi tapped his index finger to his chin. "Oh yes, Natsuki. I remember she actually had the nerve to hit me!"

"Only because you deserved it." The tawny blonde remarked, standing up for the absent blunette.

"I most certainly did not! I wasn't speaking to or about her!" He called, his voice a bit more excited. "If you remember correctly, I was talking about you and she took it upon herself to hit me."

"And if you remember correctly, you egged her on when she called you out on it." Shizuru replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

"That does not warrant violence." Takashi responded in the same tone. "I felt like I was getting hit by a butch lesbian."

At this, Nao couldn't help but laugh, only to be shut-up quickly by a glare from Shizuru.

"You guys…let's not fight. It's supposed to be a good day!" Shin called, trying to be a peace maker.

"Kid, you're at a funeral, how's that a good day?" Nao asked in annoyance.

The young man rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well…uh…I don't know."

"But it is a good day, we finally got rid of pretty boy." Takashi announced with a twisted smile placed on his lips.

Everything got silent. Nao held her breath, waiting for Shizuru's reaction. If there's one thing to say at a funeral, that was oh-so-definitely not one of them. All eyes were on Takashi, who just sat there with the same smile on his face, not breaking eye contact with his sister.

"Hey. You realize you're at a fucking funeral, right?" A new voice spoke, obviously enraged. "Do you wanna be in a goddamn casket too?"

"Tate…" Shizuru muttered in shock.

He kept ranting, "Did ya know that was my motherfucking friend? Did you know he died to save the lives of your sister and his? And you're sitting here saying good-motherfuckin'- riddance?" Tate leaned over his chair and grabbed Takashi by the collar.

"So whaddaya say, asshole? You want me to beat the priss outta you now, or later?"

By now, Nao was thoroughly amused, Shizuru put her hand over her mouth, pretending to be shocked, Shin and Toro sat in silence, pondering whether or not to stop this. In fact, everyone in the room's attention was set on the small group.

A loud gasp was then heard from the doorway followed by, "You hooligan! Get your hands off my son!"


	6. Figure from the Dark

**How very, rude. No one reviewed last chapter. Did I bore you with all the Mary-Sues? Don't worry, they're not a big part of the story and should only have a couple of parts. Oh well, perhaps Natsuki's re-appearance in this chapter will make you un-bored?**

* * *

Immediately, Tate released his grip on the other man's collar. Shizuru's mother rushed over in a fit and helped her shaken son sit down. She then turned to the blonde man.

"Child! This is a funeral, where are your manners? You're lucky I don't sue you for assault this very moment!" She hissed.

Tate's face was dangerously calm, "With all do respect, ma'am, it was your son who has no respect for the dead."

"Wha-" Shizuru put a hand on her mother's shoulder and cut off whatever kind of justification that was about to leave her mouth.

"It's true, mother, Takashi provoked it."

The older woman ripped her shoulder away from her daughter's hand which made Shizuru recoil slowly. "Rubbish."

Shizuru's gaze slowly fell onto Tate's fists as they clenched and unclenched themselves. His thoughts were clearly written on his face. _'I will not hit a woman, I will not hit a woman, I will not hit a woman.' _Was likely the mantra going through his mind. A small smile appeared on her lips at the sight.

"Whatever could you be smiling about?" Her mother questioned her sharply.

Instantly, the younger brunette's face morphed back to neutrality, "Just a sudden thought."

Her mother shook her head in disapproval and sighed. This simple action made Shizuru's lips sink into a frown for a second. "Boys, we're leaving. I don't want you surrounded by savages any longer." The older woman announced as she walked out the door with Takashi following close behind her.

Toro and Kai quickly hugged their sister, said their good-byes and rushed out the door. Shin waited for the other two to leave before he approached his sister.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" He asked.

"Of course."

"Would you help me find an apartment close to yours? I'm almost 18 now and…" Shin was cut off.

"Wouldn't you want to live in the family house for awhile?" Shizuru inquired, slightly surprised at such a request.

The boy's innocent face suddenly turned into one that held something more serious, more lethal. "Are you kidding me? I don't want to live with those people any longer than I should have to. I'd much rather live near you." He told her.

Shizurusmiled at her brother's sudden changed of face, "Is that the only reason?" She asked knowingly.

He smiled back, "It could also be that perhaps I shouldn't want to be involved in such a hassle some battle for the fortune."

Shizuru rubbed his head, "There's no point in us fighting a battle where mother has part of the decision, is there?"

"Shin, come boy, your mother's getting impatient." Their father called from the doorway.

Shin slipped Shizuru a piece of paper, "Here's my cell number, give me a call." Then ran off happily out the door.

Inspecting the paper, it had a a cell phone number and little doodles of hearts, flowers and dinosaurs decorating it. Truly her favorite brother.

Letting her gaze wonder the room, she saw many people that she did not notice before, like Reito's younger sister, Mikoto with Mai or Reito's foster father, which was slightly suprising as she hadn't seen him in quite some time, some of Reito's male friends from their University, and more people whom she had seen on numerous occasion. It was strange to not see Haruka and Yukino, certainly they should've already come back from studying abroad for the death of a friend…

Looking to the side, she found Tate now sitting and brewing over what had just transpired. Giving him a sympathetic smile, she turned her attention to her other side and finding it absent. Confused as to where her devil ran off to, she turned on her Nao-Vision and scanned the room, only to find the red headed child praying in front of Reito's casket.

'_Sorry for making such a fuss at your funeral. But at least it was kind of amusing, neh?' _Nao prayed. She cracked an eye. _'For a guy who got crushed by a fridge, they cleaned you up nice…' _Smirking, the red head walked away from the coffin and back to Shizuru.

"Okay, I'm good." She informed the other girl nonchalantly. "You ready to go?"

Shizuru smiled, but her gaze was set to the ground, "Nao, we have to stay for the burial too…"

"Oh…Okay, that's fine." Nao told her optimistically so Shizuru wouldn't get the wrong vibe and think she was imposing.

The brunette nodded and sat down next to Tate. Nao claimed the seat next to her.

A couple days later, thing were back to normal. Aside from Nao still lazing around Shizuru's house, that is. Both women went back to their regular schedule. And of course, Shizuru was still trying to make up all her missed homework assignments and school work.

Nao sat on the couch relaxing and Shizuru had plopped a seat on the recliner chair. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Quiet in their own musings.

"Fujino…" Nao called quietly.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you have a television?" She asked.

Shizuru smirked, "But I do."

Nao looked at her curiously, "Where? Never-Never Land?"

Standing up, Shizuru stepped towards the painting above the fireplace and clicked a small, hidden button. Instantly, the painting slid upwards to reveal a flat screen television within the frame.

Nao felt her mouth go agape, "Why...why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"You never asked." She replied.

"Sorry, most people I know don't keep a television hidden behind a painting." Nao remarked.

Shizuru smiled a bit, "Well, I don't watch this all too much. Sometimes even I forget about it." She explained as she sat down on the couch and handed Nao the remote.

Examining the device, the red head found that it had too many buttons for her liking. Then a thought struck her, "If you don't watch it, why go through all the trouble of having this set-up?" By 'this', Nao meant, why buy yourself a flat screen television and then pay to have it mechanically hidden in a painting if you weren't going to watch it?

"I had it installed for Natsuki, she liked to play her video games and watch her TV on it." The tawny blonde informed.

Nao went silent. Of course it was for Kuga. Should've seen that one coming, what did this girl do that wasn't for her? The red head peeked at Shizuru to see her staring wistfully at the television. Great. Great job, Nao, you just keep bringing up the wrong subject, huh? Well, since we're already on the Kuga subject…

"Fujino, how'd you end up falling for that Kuga, anyway?" She asked bluntly. It was something she always wondered.

The brunette looked at her, "Well…It's hard to explain." She answered decidedly. "I initially saw her as someone who didn't care about me, someone who wasn't excited to talk to the beautiful, famous Student Council President."

Nao's eye twitched. Was it just her, or did Shizuru's description of herself sound really conceited? Perhaps catching onto this by the look on Nao's face the brunette smiled.

"Sorry, that last part was supposed to stay in my head." She explained with a sly smile gracing her lips, saying otherwise.

Nao rolled her eyes, "I'm sure."

"Anyway, it baffled me. So I suppose I did my best to make her fall for me, but instead, it backfired, and I soon found myself falling for her." Shizuru explained.

"Are…Are you that concieted?" Nao asked incredulously.

Shizuru put a finger to her chin and pretended to think, "Mmm, I suppose I could be. Why wouldn't a beautiful woman like myself be?" The brunette covered her mouth playfully. "Silly me, my thoughts keep coming out of my mouth."

Nao laughed at Shizuru's obvious joke, "You really are a piece of work, Fujino."

Just as the red head held the remote up to turn on the television, a loud knock at the door resonated throughout the apartment. The two women looked at each other.

"I'll get it." Nao announced, getting up.

"No, it's my house, I'll get it." Shizuru said and pushed the red head's shoulder down.

Standing up strongly, Nao stepped away from the couch. "No, you sit. I'll get it."

"I can't believe we're arguing about who's going to answer the door." Shizuru expressed.

Nao laughed, "It's your fault. I said I had it." She claimed.

"Ara, but it's my house, therefore, it would be rude to have you answer the door for me." The brunette said, slowly stepping away from the couch and towards the door.

"Really. I've been here for so long, it's practically my house too." Nao replied, also inconspicuously stepping towards the door.

There was a silence, both women slowly moved. So slow, that it didn't even look like they were moving. Neither said anything, both now determined to answer the door. The tension was high. It was silly, really, but they couldn't help but have themselves become involved and resolute on beating the other.

Suddenly, the person at the door knocked the silence and taking the tension with it. Both women made an abrupt mad dash for the door. In the end, Shizuru was the victor as she had pushed Nao on the way and gained the lead. The brunette put her hand on the door knob as a sign of victory, Nao could do nothing but glare at the cheater. Shizuru took a moment to compose herself and pat down her hair before she finally opened the door to reveal a blue haired woman that they knew as none other than Natsuki Kuga.

Standing there awkwardly with gym bag in hand, was the woman who left for America more than two months ago and gave no one notice of such. Maybe it was the time away, but to Shizuru, the girl's features looked less childish than they had just a short time ago. Her clothes were not that of her school uniform, instead, she wore a simple pair of jeans and a tanktop. An unexpectedly large smiley smile adorned her face.

Suddenly, she dropped her bag and pulled Shizuru into an embrace. Shizuru didn't return the action, not that Natsuki noticed. The blunette pulled herself away and, with her hands on Shizuru's shoulders, she looked at her brunette friend with the same smile on her face. One might say Natsuki resembled an ecstatic dog.

"I came here as soon as I got off the plane!" She informed happily.

Shizuru pulled away from the blunette's touch. "I see. Why don't you come in?" The woman's tone wasn't excited nor angry.

Grabbing her bag, ignoring Nao, and walking into the all too familiar house, she breathed in deeply then turned around. "It doesn't smell like green tea anymore…"

"Is that a problem?" Shizuru asked as she walked past the blunette and back into the living room.

Natsuki and Nao followed behind. "No, it's just I'm just used to your house smelling that way." She explained as she looked around.

"Things change." The brunette told her curtly as she sat in her chair.

Nao plopped back down on the couch, Natsuki took the other side. The blunette finally turned her attention to Nao, "What about you? Why have you been hangin' around?" She asked.

"None of your business, that's why." The red head retorted.

Before Natsuki could say anything, Shizuru cut in. "I don't believe you're in the position to be interrogating anyone."

The blunette turned to Shizuru, "But-" Then she stopped and sighed. "I guess."

"So, mutt, mind tellin' us what idiocy you committed to land yourself in jail overseas?" Nao spoke.

The blunette gave her a strange look, "Watch out, Nao, you've been hanging out with Shizuru too much, you're sentences are starting to sound like her's." She joked, half expecting them to find it funny.

They did not.

In the awkward silence, Natsuki coughed and spoke, "Erm, anyway… As you…well, I guess you guys wouldn't know…but anyway…"

"Okay. Any day now." Nao called impatiently.

Instead of retorting, Natsuki continued. "My father moved to America with another woman shortly after my mother died. I guess he felt bad for me and paid my expenses throughout my life. Well, when I turned 18, he cut it short because I was a legal adult."

"And so you went to America to become an illegal prostitute to earn money to live off of then got arrested in a drug bust." Nao cut in. "It all makes sense now."

Natsuki glared at her, "No. My father called me a couple months ago and asked me to come visit him in America to meet his new wife and child, he told me he wanted to start over and he wanted me to be part of his family. Of course, I accepted, as stupid as this may sound, I've always wanted a family."

"How touching…" The red head muttered sarcastically.

"When I got there, my father was happy to see me. He had a room prepared and everything. His new son was pretty okay, albeit a little weird. His new wife, however, didn't like me at all. She thought I was trying to destroy her family." She said crossing her arms and sinking into the couch. She eyed Shizuru who was eyeing her back intently then to Nao who was supporting her head on her hand, obviously waiting for the story to get better.

"Less than a week later, she and I were the only ones at home. She started yelling and screaming at me about how I was ruining everything. I tried to be rational and explain to her that I just wanted a family too. I guess that made her more upset because she started throwing things at me and yelling to go away. Finally I started picking up the things she was throwing at me and throwing them back at her." By this time, Nao was intrigued and Shizuru's expression didn't change.

Natsuki continued, "She threw the little glass bowl they kept on the coffee table at me and it hit me in the side of the face, in blind rage, I picked it up off the floor and threw it at the wall behind her, it shattered and ended up cutting into her arm. She started bleeding a lot and I panicked and ran to her to, like, help her. She didn't want it and kicked me, so I kicked her right back and told her that I was only trying to help. Unfortunately, she passed out."

"Oh my god, you didn't bury her because you thought she was dead, did you?" Nao questioned, now really into it.

"No, no. The neighbors had called the police and they busted in as I was shaking her to wake up. They saw blood, an unconscious woman, a japanese woman shaking her covered in blood and guess what they assume." Natsuki said bitterly, "I tried to explain, but my English wasn't good enough to explain everything the right way. They took me in custody and took her to the hospital. When she woke up, she told them that I started throwing things and telling her to get out and that she just threw things in self defense! Of course, when I tried to tell my side, they didn't believe me and put me in jail. Apparently, they had enough evidence against me…"

"What? Didn't you ask for a lawyer?" Nao asked in disbelief.

"…They asked me if I needed one…but I told them I didn't."

"You…Are you stupid?"

"I didn't do anything wrong! I thought I could handle myself!" Natsuki explained. "Besides, they realized their mistake and released me, didn't they?"

"Yeah, a month and a half later." The red head remarked.

Natsuki looked down, "Better late than never."

"So what about your dad? Didn't he testify for you?" Nao spoke.

"No, that bastard testified against me, he told me he never wanted to see me again. Good riddance. I knew family was a stupid idea anyway." The blunette announced confidently.

A silence filled the air, Nao had no retort to that.

"So, I was hoping you would also like to explain as to why you left without a word, not even a phone call." Shizuru cut in, breaking her silence.

Natsuki side glanced at the woman before turning her whole attention to her, "My cellphone had no service in America, so I left it here." The blunette sighed. "And, I only thought I was going to be away for no less than a week or so. I didn't wanna say good-bye or anything until everything was official…"

"And so, when you got in jail, you decided to wait a more than a month to contact anyone?" Shizuru asked.

Natsuki fell silent.

The brunette took a sharp breath before continuing, as if she was a lawyer. "Was it because you only really want to talk when you need something from me?"

The blunette was still silent, her expression was unreadable.

"Because you knew that I loved you so much?" If Nao hadn't known better, she could've sworn she heard Shizuru's voice crack.

Natsuki clenched her fists tightly.

"**Because I was just someone to be used and thrown away**!" Shizuru shouted hysterically as she stood up, waving her arms wildly.

At this point, the blunette's head shot up, her eyes held a defensive look to them, almost angry. "Is that what you think? Is that what you think of me?" Natsuki got to her feet. "You think I'm a manipulator? A…a fake! A _cheat_! **Is that how you really think of me**!" What started out as passive anger, now turned into full blown yelling. The girl had officially lost her temper.

"What am I supposed to think?" Shizuru screamed, her eyes glazed with moisture. "Since we met, the only reason you'd ever consider talking to me was when you needed something or when I practically forced you! **How am I supposed to think anything else!**"

"That's just it! You're not thinking! You never see anything from my side!" Natsuki yelled as she pointed her finger towards the older girl.

"What do you mean? I-" Before the explaination could come out of Shizuru's mouth, Natsuki cut in.

"No! You're only thinking from your perspective of things! You're not thinking logically!"

The brunette threw her arms up in the air, "Okay, _Natsuki_, tell me, then, what am I missing? What am I not seeing?"

"All those times I didn't come to you, and you had to come to me, maybe it was because you were always surrounded by a gazillion people! Or maybe it was because I was **BUSY**. And, **MAYBE** I waited so long to call you because I was _embarrassed_! That's right, the world doesn't revolve around Shizuru Fujino all the time. Sorry!" Natsuki patronized.

"**Who said it did**? No one! You're making up assumptions that I think the world revolves around me now!" Shizuru bellowed. "I'm not a mind reader! **How am I supposed to know what was making you avoid me**!"

"Well **MAYBE** if you didn't assume things, you would have a better idea!" She retorted.

Shizuru clenched her fists. She wanted to yell at this girl, to hit her for leaving her…but at the same time, she wanted to hug her. This was all too sudden, she didn't like it. Her vision started to become blurry and she felt dizzy. Instinctively, she back up and took a seat on the chair. Pushing the heel of her hands into her forehead in an attempt to alleviate her sudden lightheadedness.

"Fujino…? You okay?" Nao inquired shifting in her seat to give her better acess to run over in case something happened.

"Natsuki…I don't want to talk about this right now…Just…get out." Shizuru uttered, not taking her hands off her face.

Although Shizuru couldn't see it, Natsuki's brow crumpled in confusion, possibly guilt. "Do you really want me to get out?" She asked, now speaking in her inside voice.

Staying in the same position, Shizuru replied, "Yes."

The blunette shrugged, "Okay." But instead of picking her things up and leaving, she dropped herself back onto the sofa.

Shizuru brought her head out of her hands and glared at Natsuki, "It's like I'm speaking another language where, 'Get out' means, 'By all means, stay'." She exclaimed passively as she retreated to her room to get away from them.

After she left, Natsuki chuckled.

"What are you laughing at, mutt?" Nao interrogated in irritation.

"She's cute when she's angry." She replied shamelessly.

Surely if Nao had been drinking a cup of water, she would have make a lovely spit-take at this very moment. Had Natsuki just admitted something like that?

Natsuki's laughter again filled the room, "Your face looks so stupid."

Instantly, Nao shut her mouth and glared at the girl, "Look, I don't know what your game is, but if you're gonna try and get close to Fuj-"

"Shizuru is a very important friend, what we do is none of your business." The blunette proclaimed calmly as she nonchalantly flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Nao glared, "She doesn't need an asshole like you in her life again."

"Asshole? I have no idea what you mean." Natsuki responded coolly and inspected her nails.

"Yes you do. Neglecting her for so long and then coming back all cocky and shit like you're not in the wrong. It makes me sick." The red head announced.

The blunette stopped her nail inspection and met Nao's eye with a glare, "You act like you're in love with her."

With a face as red as her hair, Nao threw a couch pillow at her angrily. The pillow made contact with her face and yet Natsuki's face and body language gave the inclination that she either hadn't registered it or it had never happened.

"Yeah right, like I would ever fall for a woman. I'll leave the lesbo shit to you two!" She yelled as she stood up.

Natsuki shadowed her and stood up as well, calm as ever. The blunette walked up right next to her and stopped. "Just as long as you know she's mine, I could care less what sexual orientation you are." She told her before briskly stepping off into the kitchen.

Nao, however, stood in her spot even after she heard the kitchen door shut.

This was weird. It was different.

Never in a million years would she ever hear anything like that come from Natsuki Kuga. Such shameless comments, such openness.

So what's up with this sudden change?

Suddenly ripping Nao from her thoughts, a shrill scream was heard from Shizuru's room. Her eyes widened as she whipped her head in that direction. It must be Natsuki. Thousands of horrible scenarios rushed through her mind in less than a second before her anger started to rise. How dare that mutt? !

Just as she was about to make a mad dash for the brunette's room, Natsuki busted out of the kitchen door.

"Was that Shizuru?" She exclaimed, obviously panicked.

Without responding, Nao suddenly paled. If it wasn't Natsuki…then…

* * *

**Shizuru's in danger! 0o0 Le gasp! I'm holding her fate hostage until I get some reviews!**


	7. Love Triangle?

**Yay! I've released Shizuru! **

* * *

Being as dizzy as she was, it was a bit of a struggle walking out of the room with a straight back. All she wanted to do was lie down. Opening the door to her bedroom only enough for her to get inside, she slipped in. As she went to climb onto the comfy mattress, she spotted a piece of paper lying on the floor in front of her bed. Silently deciding as to whether or not the paper was important enough for her to get up and pick it up, she stared at it intently.

It was a blank piece of printer paper flipped on it's back. The way the thin sheet of paper hit the light, she could tell there was dark, blotchy writing on the other side. Straining her eyes to see it better, she leaned forward as the paper had now caught her attention. Shizuru crawled to the foot of her bed and leaned off it to snatch the paper off the floor. The words on the paper read:

'**Your Fault.'**

Her brows furrowed. Her fault? What was her fault? She slid off her bed lazily and sauntered over to her desk and placed the paper on it. Upon turning around, a truly frightening sight awaited her.

There was the bloody child-Reito from her dreams and the man the child had grown into standing behind him. This instantaneously elicited a shrill shriek from the woman.

"_It's your fault, Shizuru-chan!" _Little Reito told her calmly.

Eyes wide from shock, she felt her breath hitch in her throat, and, though she tried to speak, no words came out.

"_You killed me," _He continued.

"No...It was the…" She whispered hoarsely.

"_The kitchen appliance?" _He finished for her._"If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have been there."_

Shizuru stared at him in confusion, the words hadn't processed fully yet.

"_We went to cheer you up," _Little Reito elaborated. _"Because you and I were best friends. Because I was so attached to you, I wanted you happy."_

The brunette's eyes widened and she took a sharp intake of air.

"_If we had never met, I would've been happier. Heck, I'd actually be alive!" _He said as he laughed wickedly.

"No…" Her voice seemed to deny her the ability to speak any higher than a raspy whisper.

"_Face it, Shizuru, your friendship killed me." _

"No! No!" Shizuru shrieked. It echoed through the apartment.

Instead of standing idly, Natsuki took the lead down the hallway. Nao followed, however thinking them both to be stupid as they're running into a potentially dangerous situation un-armed. What if someone dangerous was in there? What if it was a mob of people? What if it was a wild animal…like…a bear or something!

'_I really need to get this bear thing outta my head…'_ She thought as did her best not to trip over her own feet.

Rather than simply opening the door by twisting the door knob, Natsuki kicked it in.

'_Where does she think she is? A James Bond movie?' _The red-head thought cynically despite the situation.

Scanning the room, they found no intruders, just Shizuru pressed up against one wall, staring wide-eyed at the opposite wall.

Natuski ran over to the woman, Nao checked under the bed and looked out the window before coming over.

"Shizuru, what's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?" The blunette asked questions a mile a minute.

"Fujino?"

"_Your friendship kills, Shizuru." _Reito told her before he and older Reito disappeared.

Suddenly, Shizuru's body collapsed, Natsuki managed to catch her by the armpits so she wouldn't hit the floor.

Shoving Natsuki to the side, Nao got in front of Shizuru and held her shoulders. "Fujino! Hey! What's wrong?"

The woman's eyes were still wide and wild. Her gaze never left the wall.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Nao asked in a panic.

Natsuki didn't reply, she examined Shizuru's eyes intently. Growing impatient, Nao yelled this time.

"Kuga!"

Unperturbed by the shout, Natsuki picked up the mindless woman, "No. No, let's not." She said as she placed Shizuru on her bed.

"Why? Look at her!" Nao shouted.

Natsuki whipped her head towards the red head and glared at her, "First of all, stop shouting, you're not making the situation any better!" She hissed. The blunette shot the dazed Shizuru one last look before gesturing Nao to step out of the room with her. Hesitantly, Nao followed.

"Okay, Kuga, what's going on?" The red head demanded once they were in the hallway. "Why haven't we called the ambulance yet?"

Natsuki leaned up against the wall, "You really think that's a good idea?" She asked calmly.

"Yes!" Nao shouted in a whisper. "Why else would I be suggesting it!"

"So you think it's a good idea to send her to the hospital so they can send her to an insane asylum?" Natsuki spoke.

The red head stared at her in confusion, "What…? No…but how-"

"Look, I've seen this before, it's obviously from some sort of trauma. She's in shock." Natsuki told her.

"Trauma…" Nao repeated quietly.

Natsuki peered at her curiously, "Did something happen while I was away?"

"Reito died." The red head told her bluntly finding it hard to beat around the bush on the subject.

The blunette's eyes widened and her mouth hung open. "W-what?"

"Yup, we went to his funeral a couple days ago." Nao explained calmly.

Soon enough, Natsuki regained her cool composure and pressed herself back against the wall, "I see. How'd he go?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Crushed by a fridge…"

Natsuki's eye almost involuntarily twitched. "Oh." She went silent before asking another question. "Where was Shizuru when this happened?"

"I found her walking away from the scene covered in blood, so she must've been there." Nao informed as she winced when the memory flashed through her mind.

"That may be the cause of this." Natsuki spoke seriously.

Nao scoffed.

"What?" The blunette asked raising an eyebrow.

"That happened like, more than a week ago, I think she would've shown some signs before this." The red head explain.

Natsuki wagged a finger, "Not true, it can take years for trauma from a certain event to set in; for the person to realize just exactly what happened."

Nao crossed her arms, "Well look at you, little miss, know-it-all-expert on crazies and trauma."

The blunette let out a bitter chuckle, "I guess I should be by now, huh?"

Before Nao could question her, Natsuki switched the subject back to Shizuru, "I'm gonna go in, check on how she's doing, I want you to make some tea for her."

Although, before Natsuki could even put her hand on the door knob, Nao pushed her aside. "No, you go get the tea, and I'll check on Fujino."

Natsuki glowered at the girl, "Just go get the tea."

"I don't know who you think you are waltzing in and pretending nothing happened, but it needs to stop." The red head hissed and pushed her finger into Natsuki's chest.

Natsuki grabbed the offending hand and threw it to the side, "Aren't you doing the same thing?" She asked.

What was she referring to? The HiME festival? So what, that was in the past, everyone was on a killing frenzy anyway. Nao placed her hands on her hips, "So what?"

The blunette smiled condescendly, "Then that's my answer too."

The red head clenched her teeth together in anger. Natsuki bent her knees slightly to get down to Nao's level, "She's m-i-n-e." She whispered and spelled out the word 'mine' slowly.

Nao's eye met Natsuki's with a glare, "You don't deserve her." She said and leaned closer to show she wasn't intimidated.

"I have a lot of things I don't deserve." The blunette responded.

"Fujino isn't a thing. She's a person." Nao retorted.

"Awful protective of a woman you tried to kill twice, aren't you?"

Nao shrugged her shoulders, "That's the past. Now's now."

Natsuki's smile grew into a wicked one, "I guess I can consider you my rival then."

Nao eyed her curiously, "Rival?"

The blunette straightened up, "My love rival, of course."

The red head scowled at the woman before her, "Fine." She replied with determination lacing her voice.

Natsuki smiled, "Since you don't stand a chance, I'll give you a handicap and go get the tea." She said as she turned on her heel.

Watching the girl walk down the hallway, she was only halfway down the hall before Nao spoke out to her. "Kuga, you've changed."

Natsuki stopped short, but did not turn to face her new love rival. "Have I?" She paused, perhaps hesitating to continuing. "People learn to adapt to their environments, that's what I did, that's all."

Again, before Nao could respond, Natsuki briskly walked away. The red head shook her head as she turned around to enter Shizuru's room. Opening the door, she replayed that entire interaction in her mind.

'_Trauma, huh? I guess that could…' _Suddenly, her face turned red. _'Did I really agree to be Kuga's love rival?' _

It was stupid, really. How could she've agreed to something like that? She didn't know how she felt about Fujino, so why would she even agree? It must've been the heat of the moment. Yeah. She just wanted to crush Kuga, that was it. Yeah. Nao nodded her head in self-confirmation.

So caught up in her introspection, Nao hadn't notice two red eyes staring at her curiously.

"Speaking to someone inside your head?" Shizuru asked innocently.

Nao's face turned red, "N-no! I…uh…was just thinking." She explained as she made her way to the edge of Shizuru's bed. The red head hopped up on the bed and sat next to the woman.

Shizuru leaned towards Nao with a child like expression adorning her face, "You aren't sending me to an insane asylum, are you?"

The red head's mouth fell agape, "No…ah…how did you…"

The brunette leaned in closer making Nao feel a bit uncomfortable at the small distance between them now, "The walls are thin, especially when you talk right outside the door."

Nao's eyes widened and her face heated up, "Y-you heard the whole thing?" Nao asked. Shizuru nodded. "A-all of it?" Again the brunette nodded.

"Rivals, hmm?" Shizuru spoke.

Instantly, Nao waved her hands in front of her face. "Before you get any weird ideas, I'm not i-into to you, it's just Kuga wants you b-but s-she doesn't deserve you because, you know. And-and I-I'm trying to p-protect you and the only way she'll leave you alone is i-if she catches the message and I j-just agreed in the heat of the moment, ya know? I-I didn't like mean it…" Nao struggled to explain. For two reasons, one would be trying to find the right words to explain properly and the second would be Shizuru's progressing mission to decrease the gap between them as much as possible as Nao backed up.

The brunette pouted, "Is Nao saying she doesn't think I'm attractive?"

"N-no, I'm not saying that I'm just-" Nao was cut off.

"So you think I'm attractive." Shizuru determined.

The red head's face turned bright red, "No, wait, I-"

The brunette finally captured Nao towards the foot of the bed and pushed her into a submissive position under her, "No need to deny it, I think you're quite attractive yourself."

At a loss for words, Nao's eyes were wide and she could do nothing but stare at the woman hovering over her and wonder what the hell just happened.

At that very moment, Natsuki opened the door, tea cup in hand. Only to be greeted with such a sight.

The blunette glared, "I said I'd give you a handicap, I think this a bit more than a handicap." She spat at Nao, who's attention was now on Natsuki.

Not moving from her position, Shizuru spoke, "Ara, Natsuki, I had no idea you were still in my house after I told you to get out." Her tone was so casual, that if a blind person had been in the room, they would suspect nothing out of the ordinary from this scene.

Unfortunately, Natsuki was not blind."Bullshit." She stated angrily. She, however, did not dwell on this situation as he calmly made his way to the side table and set the cup down.

Shizuru looked down at the prey she had pinned to the bed and smiled in satisfaction before suddenly being jerked back and thrown against her own pillows. "Now lay still, you shouldn't be feeling well." Natsuki told her.

Laying back against her pillow and peeking up at Natsuki, "Oh that's right, I'm traumatized." She mocked.

"You heard us?" Natsuki asked.

At this point, Nao sat up, finally over her shock of the sudden invasion of her space.

"Oh yes, I found the love rival part the most interesting though." Shizuru replied closing her eyes.

"Did you?" The blunette leaned down to hover above Shizuru's face, who, upon feeling her bubble being invaded, opened her eyes. "Then you already know you're mine."

Shizuru's eyes widened a fraction, but she was careful to keep her uninterested mask in place. Hearing Natsuki say something like this outside the room while her ear was pressed against the door was one thing, but hearing her say it to her face was a completely different thing.

Before she knew what was happening, Natsuki's lips made full contact with her's for the briefest of seconds.

Remember that uninterested mask Shizuru had on a second ago? Yeah, that was replaced with wide eyes, pink cheeks, and a mouth agape in surprise.

Surprisingly, Nao's face looked the same… minus the pink cheeks, of course.

"You two act like we've never kissed before." Natsuki spoke.

At this, Nao's face contorted in confusion. What? When?

"But those were different." Shizuru spoke.

"When was this?" Nao asked, louder than she intended.

"Once while I slept and once right before we died." Natsuki announced with a proud smiled, holding up two fingers.

Nao's eye twitched, "The one while you were sleeping shouldn't count. It was un-consensual." She pointed out logically.

Natsuki opened her mouth to retort, closed it, opened it, then closed it again. She had no retort. "Fine. But it was twice now."

Nao rolled her eyes in irritation.

Shizuru cleared her throat, "I think I am going to get some rest." She said as she got under the covers.

Natsuki smiled like a child being given candy, "I'll rest with you!" She exclaimed as she attempted to get under the covers but was stopped by Nao, who grabbed the blunette's ear.

"The last thing she needs is to be molested in her sleep." Nao stated and pulled Natsuki out of the room by the ear before any protest could come out of her mouth.

Once outside the room and back into the living room, Nao let go of the blunette's ear. Natsuki plopped down on the couch like a child and rubbed her aching ear.

Turning her back to Natsuki, Nao spoke, "She looks like she feels better."

Natsuki looked at the girl's back, "That's right, she _looks _better. We'll just have to wait out and see what happens for now."

"Yup. Guess so." Nao replied dryly.

When the blunette didn't reply, Nao turned around and sat on the opposite side of the couch. Resting her head on her hand, she asked a question. "So, what part of your environment made you adapt a back bone and become even more of an asshole?"

Natsuki chuckled, "Without it, in jail, you'd instantly be someone's bitch. I had to learn the hard way."

"I see." Nao spoke idly. "What made you have a sudden lust for Fujino then? Certainly that wasn't part of adapting to jail."

"With so much time away from someone, it gives you time to think and learn just how important to you they are." She explained witsfully.

"…That and between big, scary butch woman…" Natsuki paused, a light blush evident on her face, obviously deciding on how to word whatever she was going to say next. "…Doing stuff to you….I'd much rather have Shizuru. Who isn't big, butch and scary." She finally finished.

Nao stared at her intently. "Kuga…are you saying…like…you…'you dropped the soap', so to speak?"

"I'm hungry, you guys have mayo, right?" Natsuki said, suddenly standing up and blatantly avoiding the subject.

After a second of introspection, Nao decided it best to just let it go at the moment. "Yeah, it's in the fridge."

Inside Shizuru's room, she hadn't lied about getting some rest. The woman was laying quietly under the covers with her eyes shut. Regrettably, the woman was not being lulled to sleep by her thoughts. Instead, they raced through her mind, keeping her awake. Absentmindedly, she touched her lips and smiled, however, her smile soon turned into a frown as she thought about things logically.

Should she even let Natsuki back into her life? So far it's been nothing but pain. She could simply live happily ever after with Nao. '_Your friendship kills.' _These words echoed through her mind…Perhaps…she could live happily alone.

If her friendship kills, what does her love do?

Images of the carnage and destruction of District One she had caused for her love for Natsuki flashed through her mind. _'Oh, yes, mass homocide.' _She thought sarcastically with a wicked smile on her lips.

Suddenly, her face fell, eyes opened and became filled with tears. _'That's not funny.' _She thought as sleep slowly claimed her consciousness.

* * *

**Shizuru's in the middle of a love triangle while she's seeing ghosties...Oh the stress :D**


	8. Darkness Expands

**I'm baaack! So many things to doo! Hahaha, I'm so wired right now, you don't even know! Read and Review!**

* * *

The next morning, Nao and Shizuru hustled about trying to get ready for school, Natsuki, however, sat on the couch, lazily yawning and observing.

"Mutt, you have school today too!" Nao shouted as she sat on the arm of the couch, pulling on a sock.

The blunette stretched, "Yeah, but on my leave, I took the assignments they required for the following two weeks and then the jail contacted the school and had the rest of my work sent over." She explained sluggishly.

"…So?" Nao asked looking up as she idly stuck her now socked foot in a shoe.

"So," Natsuki shot her a side glance in slight aggravation. "I've already done all the work they required for the next couple weeks. There's no point in me going right now." She said laying back down.

"Natsuki, I hope you don't plan on skipping." Shizuru chided walking out of the hallway, fixing her belt.

"But I just got back yesterday!" She whined putting her arms behind her head as a pillow. "I think you should stay home too, Shizuru, I'll take care of you."

Shizuru eyed her in amusement, "Take care of me?" She quoted.

"Yeah, you and your traumatized-ness. I'll take your mind off it." Natsuki replied nonchalantly as she lazily turned her head up towards the ceiling to yawn again.

"Oh my, America has made you quite the pervert." Shizuru spoke as she finished fiddling with her belt.

"Wha-" Natsuki started in plain confusion, but cut herself off as she realized what the woman meant. "No! I meant we could talk and stuff!" She yelled with red cheeks.

That was something Shizuru hadn't seen in awhile. It was quite the heart warming sight. "Ara, Natsuki doesn't have any interest in me at all?" She egged on with a pout.

Her face grew an even darker shade of red, "I-I do, but I didn't mean…" Natsuki trailed off. Shizuru's lips held a ghost of a smile at the sight.

A loud cough disrupted the moment and the room's attention was brought back to Nao, "Fujino, it's time to go, I'll walk you. C'mon." She demanded as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the door.

Upon seeing that Shizuru was actually following Nao towards the door, Natsuki jumped off the couch. "Hey, hold on, I'll walk you, Shizuru."

Nao turned on her heel sharply, "You don't need to. I already said I'd walk her." She said in clear annoyance.

"That's okay, Nao, you go ahead to your school, and I'll walk Shizuru to her's." Natsuki replied with fake civility.

"Kuga, take your plastered manners and go back to bed." Nao commanded as she took another step for the door, "C'mon, Fujino."

"No, she's not going with you. I already just said I'm taking her!" Natsuki called as, she too, took a step for the door.

"Ara, I have a harem. I'm so happy." Shzizuru said as she followed Nao to the door.

"I am not part of your harem!" Both girls shouted in a unison, strangely, also blushing in a unison. Odd.

However amusing this debate was, Shizuru decided to put an end to this before everyone was late over something so trivial. "Natsuki, I think it would be best if you stayed back on this one." Shizuru said.

The blunette whipped her head to face the brunette, "What?" She asked sadly.

Shizuru clenched her teeth to restrain herself from caving in and allowing the girl to do whatever she'd like. It felt like she had just kicked a puppy and then walked away while the puppy stared at her with it's doe-eyed eyes filled with sadness.

But she couldn't let this happen. Nao had already offered and Natsuki wasn't some one Shizuru really wanted to be with at the moment. "Natsuki, you just woke up, you're not fit to go anywhere." The brunette explained bringing her attire to attention as an excuse.

The blunette inspected her clothes. No stains, no overwhelming odor, a couple wrinkles, that was it though. "If I brushed my hair real quick, no one would even notice."

"That's nasty, Kuga." Nao interrupted.

Natsuki glared at the red head but her attention was soon returned to Shizuru as the brunette spoke again. "I don't have time to wait on you to get ready, Natsuki, just stay here." Hopefully being this curt would let this girl know she had no time for any further discussion on the matter.

"So you're just gonna let her walk you?" Natsuki inquired almost angrily with her hands on her hips.

"Nao, is already ready and my school is on the way to her's. So yes, I am." Shizuru informed

"Yeah, Kuga, so fallback." Nao remarked as she mockingly shooed the girl on with a flick of her wrist.

Natsuki's face fell. "Fine, fine, walk her to school then….Whatever." She replied dejectedly as she went to turn back towards the living room.

Nao raised a brow, "No snarky remark?" She asked making the blunette stop in her tracks.

Natsuki shot Nao a side glare before continuing her way to the living room, "I don't care. Do whatever you want." She shot back angrily.

"Okay." The red-head said as she and Shizuru left the house.

After they left the apartment building and they were onto the streets, Nao desperately wanted to break the silence that had been plaguing the two of them since they had stepped out of the room. She glanced at Shizuru, who looked as if she wasn't really all there. She must be lost in thought. The red-head decided to pull the girl out of it.

"What a brat, huh?" Nao spoke which caused Shizuru to snap back to reality.

"Excuse me?" She asked, as if she hadn't really heard her.

"Kuga, she's such a baby." The red-head clarified.

Shizuru sighed. "Oh."

Nao continued, not wanting the conversation to die and leave nothing but silence again, "What's her problem anyway? Comin' back and acting like nothing happened…Like she's some sort of hero!"

"I don't know." Shizuru replied distant and monotonously.

Nao glared at her from her peripheral vision. There's nothing more annoying than trying to talk to someone who has nothing to say.

"Do you think she really loves you?" She pried, hoping for a reaction.

"No." Shizuru replied.

Nao fell into silence. There was something in Shizuru's tone that told her not to take this conversation and further. The brunette was probably more confused than Nao. Maybe Shizuru knew something that she didn't? Well, actually, that probably is the case, Natsuki and Shizuru had their own little thing going on for who knows how long, Nao had just jumped in during the climax without much information.

But still, the question plagued her. Why would Natsuki, who ignored Shizuru for so long, suddenly come back claiming her love for her? Does that make sense? No. No it doesn't.

….

Maybe…maybe this isn't Natsuki. Maybe the real Natsuki was killed and they made a robot of her to get close to Shizuru and then, eventually, assassinate the brunette in her sleep! That made sense! That's why she had been acting so different so suddenly, robots don't know how to ease into a situation! But who would want to kill Shizuru?

No one came to mind.

Maybe, Natsuki became part of a secret organization and she thought she could come seduce Shizuru and get information out of her!….Oh wait, what kind of information would Shizuru even be hoarding?

Damn it, not even her fabricated speculations were making sense.

"I believe she's acting in such a fashion because she wants something from me. I don't know what. But she wants something." Shizuru spoke after several minutes, breaking Nao out of her retrospection.

"You want me to get rid of her?" Nao asked eagerly.

Shizuru waved her hand, "No. I want to see how this plays out."

"What?" The younger girl responded in disbelief.

The brunette smirked, "I want to go along with whatever game she's playing, then turn the tables on her."

Nao chuckled, "That's one thing I like about you!" She exclaimed happily.

She wasn't happy that Shizuru was playing along, no. She was happy that Shizuru wasn't falling for Natsuki's bullshit.

After bidding goodbye to Nao, Shizuru made her way to her first class. Though her mind was pre-occupied with ways to turn the tables on Natsuki, it switched involuntarily to yesterday. The note, the ghosts, the…thoughts…

She had convinced herself it was just a dream, a daydream. Like, it would make sense, she woke up in bed.

However, deep down, she knew it wasn't a simple dream. Her thoughts floated to the conversation that was held outside her door.

"_So you think it's a good idea to send her to the hospital so they can send her to an insane asylum?" _

Natsuki's words echoed through her thoughts. Insane asylum? That wouldn't fit her at all. She didn't belong there. She didn't want to go there. She wasn't crazy.

"…_I've seen this before, it's obviously from some sort of trauma. She's in shock."_

She wasn't in shock either. The fact that Reito was long gone had set in days ago. So what was she? Where had Natsuki seen that before anyway? Why didn't anything make sense?

In any case, acting as she was, it was obviously making them think her unstable. She had to pretend to be fine, to act normal. No, those two, if anyone, couldn't know. Surely they would mark her as crazy and send her to an asylum as Natsuki said. Seeing things, hearing things, feeling like this…from the outside it might've look as if she was crazy, but she wasn't. How could she be? It was an impossible thought in itself!

The bell that signaled her first class was about to start, broke her out of her inner musings and made her quicken her pace to class.

* * *

At Fuuka Academy, Nao was already sitting in class, waiting for Mikoto to come in and entertain her.

"Ne, Nao, we heard you were good friends with Shizuru Fujino!" A couple of girls behind her remarked giddily.

"Where'd you hear that?" She inquired un-interestedly.

"We saw you walking her to her school today!" One of the girls responded.

"Oh." She said, then rested her hand on her cheek to support her head. "We're not really good friends, but I guess she's a friend."

Just then, an excited black haired girl busted through the classroom door. "Nao! Nao!" She called as she ran over holding a bag. "I have a delivery!" She exclaimed, holding out the bag to the red head.

Taking the bag and looking inside, Nao pulled out the contents with curiosity. "Tea?"

"Mm! For Shizuru!" Mikoto clarified with a salute.

"She has tea already. Can't you come up with something more original?" She undermined.

"Mai made it special! It helps you relax and then makes you sleep!" The ebony haired girl informed in the same peppy tone.

Nao raised an eyebrow. "Ok. I'll give it to her." She said as she stuffed the bag of tea into her school bag.

"Mai wants to see you at lunch." The feral child blurted out.

"Good, I need to talk to her anyway." Nao replied, thinking about how she was going to break the news about Natsuki's return to the carrot top.

At that moment, the teacher walked in a told them to take their seats.

Lunch time came around for Shizuru just when she needed it. All day, her thoughts kept her from her work and it was quite frustrating. So a break from work where she could silently think was a relief. Gathering her things, she stepped off of campus and turned in the direction of the café she and Reito often spent there lunch at. She stopped short at the thought. How depressing would it be to go in there alone?

Her name being whispered caught her attention, she made no indication that she had heard, but she listened intently to a couple standing not too far away from her. Their hushed voices sounded malicious and horrid.

"…_Yeah, I heard they were close." The woman whispered._

"_It must've been her fault." The man responded in the same hushed tone._

Shizuru's eyes widened.

"_How horrible, what a selfish woman." The woman slandered._

Her breath hitched in her throat.

"_I know, look, she probably doesn't even feel bad that she killed her bestfriend." The man remarked with an evil snicker._

She couldn't take it anymore, she didn't want to hear this, she took off running down the street.

The couple looked up bewildered, "I wonder why she took off." The woman commented.

"I don't know, but poor girl, she must be so sad." The man replied.

"Who wouldn't? Shizuru and Reito were so close, it must be hard for her." The woman remarked sadly.

"It's okay, babe, why don't we make her a gift basket?" The man said, wrapping his arm around his now grief stricken girlfriend, whom simply nodded.

Deciding she had run far enough, Shizuru slowed her pace which became a steady walking speed. Looking around, she discovered she was close to her apartment, without thinking, she made her way there for lunch for the convenience.

As she stood in the elevator taking her to the third floor, Shizuru's mind wondered back to the slanderous whispers.

'_I wasn't hearing them right…They must've not been talking about me…I was overreacting. Nothing to worry about…' _The brunette assured herself as she stepped out of the elevator.

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she made her way to her door. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard a muffled voice from the inside, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why is this so hard!" The voice yelled which was followed by a slam.

Natsuki.

She had forgotten all about the blunette.

But there was no helping it, she was already there and she was starving. Her stomach growled as if to remind her of this. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door.

Natsuki obviously did not notice her presence as she hadn't run out to acknowledged her. Not knowing where the girl was, Shizuru stepped towards the kitchen, hoping to get in and out so she wouldn't have to face the younger girl.

But as she walked towards the kitchen, the peculiar smell of something burnt filled her nose. She opened the door and sure enough, there was Natsuki, frantically reading over a piece of paper, oven mitten on one hand, with a burnt…something in a pan sitting on the stove. The kitchen was a disaster area.

Finally noticing she wasn't alone, Natsuki covered up her burnt food desperately with her oven mit and addressed Shizuru hysterically. "What are you doing here?" She exclaimed.

The brunette scrutinized her kitchen and the girl invading it before replying playfully, "I believe I live here."

Natsuki thrusted her finger at the brunette, "You can't be here now!" She yelled in panic. "Leave! Don't look!" She demanded.

"Don't look? At what? The disaster you've turned my kitchen into?" She asked neutrally as she crossed her arms.

The blunette looked down in embarrassment, "I…I was gonna clean it when I was finished." She admitted shamefully.

"Finished with what, exactly?" Shizuru inquired with an arched brow.

Natsuki kept her eyes on the floor and mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, super-sonic hearing isn't something we're all blessed with." The brunette remarked, getting impatient with the girl. The longer she stood in her kitchen, the more she become irritated.

"I was trying to make dinner for you." Natsuki confessed, keeping her eyes on the floor.

Shizuru's eyes widened a fraction and she was stunned into silence.

Taking it as a response, Natsuki continued to explain, "I know I've been away for awhile, so I wanted to do something special for you. Like the old times when we ate dinner together, I wanted to do that again." She said, taking her gaze off the floor, but also avoiding Shizuru's. The brunette's heart fluttered and butterflies filled her stomach.

With the other woman still silent, Natsuki kept talking as she didn't know what else to do, "It's really harder than you make it look!" The blunette commented light-heartedly then gestured to the trash can filled to the brim with burnt, crispy food. "I keep messing up…But I'm getting closer!"

Wanting to believe that the blunette's actions were sincere, she couldn't, she simply couldn't. A voice inside her mind told her that this was just an act to regain her good graces. The fluttering stopped and her eyes hardened. She would not be fooled.

Natsuki finally met Shizuru's gaze, "I figure, by the time you get home from school, I'll have fixed everything the right way and we can eat a nice dinner together….like the good old days."

A pregnant silence filled the air. Shizuru didn't know how she should respond and Natsuki felt stupid because she kept babbling. Both women stayed silent for what seemed like hours.

"How sweet, Natsuki." Shizuru teased condescendingly. "But you should know, I don't very much enjoy burnt food."

Natsuki's brows furrowed in sadness for a split second, "I…I know, that's why I need more time to get it ready!" She protested, her voice becoming more determined towards the end of her sentence.

Feeling a bit mean, Shizuru raised her head and arched a brow with her arms still crossed, "There's no need, we'll never go back to the old times, why don't you go cook in your own apartment? My kitchen is a mess now."

The brunette felt a sick satisfaction in watching the blunette's face fall from determined to utterly miserable.

"I guess you're right, we'll never go back to the old times…" Natsuki agreed in a defeated tone as her head fell and her hair covered her eyes from sight.

About to put the finishing touches on crushing the younger girl, Shizuru opened her mouth, but was cut off by Natsuki picking up her head in new determination and speaking.

"That's why we have to make new times! Why live in the past, right?" Natsuki exclaimed as she pumped her fist. "Don't worry, Shizuru, the kitchen will be clean by the time you get home! Keep your appetite ready too!"

Shizuru felt her eye twitch. Giving up on the thick headed skull of the blunette, she frowned and opened the fridge. She gathered left overs and heated them up in the microwave, completely ignoring Natsuki, who was otherwise ignoring her too as she darted around the kitchen gathering the needed ingredients for her dish.

Taking her food, she headed out into the living room, just wanting to get out of the kitchen. She roamed her apartment idly as she ate. She soon found herself in her room, figuring she should sit down, she took a seat on the bottom edge of her bed.

As she ate, her gaze wondered up towards her desk. Suddenly, she spotted an unfamiliar piece of paper sitting on the edge of her desk. Her eyes widened fully as she jumped off the bed and sprung herself to the desk.

Holding her nearly empty bowl in one hand, she picked up the slip of paper in the other and held it up to read.

**Your fault.**

Shizuru's hand fell limp and she dropped her bowl, causing it to shatter all over the floor. Her pupils small, eyes wide and body frozen in horror, she just continued to stare at the paper, not noticing Natsuki standing in the doorway, her concern fell deaf to the brunette's ears.

She continued to gawk at the paper. That means it was real. Reito's ghost…was…real. The paper was here to prove it. Her body shook in fear. Her mind reeled in shock and dread.

Not wanting to look at the paper anymore, she crumpled it up, threw it on the floor and rushed out the door, knocking Natsuki into the door in her haste.

Natsuki's concerned gaze watched Shizuru stumble into the living room. Before checking on her, the blunette's curiosity got the best of her and she ambled into the room to retrieve the piece of paper and see what was so horrific about the paper.

Shizuru sat on the couch and cradled her face in her hands. She felt like crying, she was so confused and so scared. Never had she been so freaked out in her life. It was only when she felt a comforting hand rub her back did her stomach stop twisting in anxiety. The brunette looked up, ruby met concerned jade.

"Shizuru…Why did you freak out like that?" The blunette asked.

"It…it…" Shizuru stumbled for words, she didn't want to tell Natsuki about this. What if she thought she was crazy? What if she called the asylum? No. That's not an option. There's no way she was going to an asylum for the mentally ill. "I've never seen that paper before, and what it said disturbed me somewhat." She settled for.

The color from Natsuki's face drained. "What it said?" She asked.

"Yes. It said 'Your fault' in black, messy letters." Shizuru commented off-handedly, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Natsuki's jaw clenched, her eyes became misty and her brows quivered. "Shizuru…" She spoke. "That paper is blank."

* * *

"She's back?" The carrot top repeated quietly.

After much debate with herself, Nao decided not to beat around the bush in telling Mai and Mikoto that Natsuki was back.

"Yup. Cocky as fuck, too. Like nothing happened and she actually deserves for Shizuru to even give her the time of day." Nao remarked poisonously as she leaned into the cafeteria chair.

Mai lowered her head and put her hands over her face. Quiet sniffles soon started. It took a moment for it to click in Nao's mind that the girl in front of her was crying.

Before Nao could react, Mikoto was rubbing Mai's back telling her not to cry. The black haired girl looked up at Nao with a grim, serious face. A rare sight for Mikoto. "Nao." She commanded.

She non-verbally responded by nodding her head in acknowledgment.

"Tell Natsuki not to come near." She demanded with a deadly undertone.

Nao gulped, but of course it was subtle so no one could see. "Are you-"

"Brother told me to make sure Mai is taken care of." She responded as if it was the word of a god. "Don't let Natsuki come near."

Nao opened her mouth and then closed it as a sudden pang of guilt hit her. She had forgotten that Mikoto must've been effected by Reito's death almost as much, if not more, than Shizuru. And yet she was always jumping around in glee as if it never happened. How much pain she must've been hiding. It must've been for Mai's sake. Taking care of her probably fell in the same category as not making her upset and seeing an upset Mikoto would've made Mai upset as well.

The red head shook her head as to rid herself of such sympathy evoking thoughts, "You got it, Mikoto." She said in a 'roger-that' kind of voice.

* * *

The two women stared at each other in silence for more than a few moments. Shizuru, just starting to realize something was wrong, Natsuki, already knowing what was wrong. Out of the blue, Natsuki pulled Shizuru into a tight hug.

She started rubbing her back and, with her voice cracking half way through the sentence, said, "Everything is going to be fine. It's okay, it's okay…" Then started bawling on Shizuru's shoulder.

The brunette just sat there stiffly. What was going to be okay? Why was Natsuki crying? What…what…

For ten minutes Shizuru sat in the same stiff position while Natsuki was clinging to her and crying. It wasn't long after that did Natsuki slowly stop crying and just held the older girl in silence.

After all that time of thinking, Shizuru came to one conclusion.

"Natsuki…You think I'm crazy, don't you." She felt the the younger girl jerk at the sudden break of silence, but otherwise, did not respond to the statement.

* * *

***GASP* That's never a good sentence. Review to find out the next parttt!**


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